Sarah
by Andieke
Summary: What if Deeks is fed up with the jokes and the banter and makes a bold decision? And what about the team when he gets help from an unexpected corner?
1. Prologue

I have been re watching the second series and this is something that popped up in my mind.  
The banter, the jokes it's all in good nature, but what if one particular member doesn't see it that way?  
With being Deeks the new guy, yeah well he was the easy target and I went from there.

You know all the disclaimers and stuff, however one is totally mine but can't give anything away just yet :)

* * *

The silence after the gun fight was deafening. It almost seemed like as if it was a scene in a movie and it took awhile for people to come to terms what had just happened.  
'Sam?'  
'I'm good G.' came the reply.  
'Kensi'  
'I'm fine'.  
He closed his eyes and just kept laying there, waiting for something he knew wasn't coming. But this time something broke inside him, something kept him from speaking up, saying he was good too.

The car ride back to ops happened in silence. He didn't feel like going back, but he had to. At least that would have been something they did notice, if he didn't go back.


	2. Chapter 1

**One**

Hetty watched her team come back from the latest operation. And while examining she noticed something she didn't like. But before she confronted them about it, she chose to make some tea. Perhaps they figured it out before that and she didn't have to step in.

20 minutes later, when the team entered ops she noticed that they hadn't figured it out.

'Lady and gentlemen, feel like something is missing' she said as she stepped out of the shadows.  
They looked at her, not comprehending.  
'What are you talking about, Hetty? ' G asked. 'The operation has been completed with as little damage as possible. '  
'Are you sure, Mr. Callen?' Hetty said. 'Because 4 of you set out and yet only 3 returned.'  
It was only then that the crew realized that they were a man short, something they should have noticed because of the missing guy things had gotten pretty quiet.  
'Where's Deeks?' Kensi asked.

Three pair of eyes looked at each other, all showing the increase of worry they felt coming over them.  
'Kens,'  
'He sat next to me in the car, I would notice if he didn't!' She shot back.  
'okay, but how did he look? ' Callen asked.  
'He, …. He was quiet, but I, …' She said as her voice trailed off. The only thing she was sure of was that he was sitting next to her in the car. But that was it, he didn't speak and she didn't ask. She had no idea what happened to him and that he was alright or not. As she looked at the other 2 cold sweat started to break out. They were partners, she was supposed to know about him and at least if he came scratch free from a fire fight.  
'Let's get back to the parking lot. You guys got out then what?' Sam asked gently.  
It calmed her down and allowed to search her memory.  
'phone call, he said he needed to make a phone call and that he would follow after that.'  
'Okay, Eric?'  
'On it, the tech said as he entered Deeks phone number in the search path. A second the intel rolled over the screen.  
'Let's see, the last phone call was to a taxi company, shortly after you arrived.' Eric said, reading from the screen.  
'Let me get the camera footage' Nell said and the garage they used came in to view. After entering a time code, the video started to play. They could see themselves driving in and park the cars. Deeks stayed behind to make his said phone call. The rest had already disappeared from the parking lot before he ended the call.  
They could see him standing there for a while with a torn look on his face. But then he just shook his head and started to walk. To walk away from the mission and the team.  
The camera angle switched to the view outside and they could see him getting in the cab and ride away.  
'Where did he go?' Kensi stumble backwards against the table. She needed to find something solid to hold on to. Until now he could have been taken by someone, being held against his will but this video clearly showed none of that happened. He made the decision to make that call, to turn and walk away from them, from her.  
'I have no idea Miss Blye, but I think you better start to work it out.' Hetty managed to not let the blame come through. One look at the team told her the blaming game had already started.

'Got him !' Eric suddenly said. 'Well at least I've got his cell phone wandering around LA.  
His intention to lighten the mood failed miserably when no one responded. Nell spotted his need for confirmation and placed her hand on his shoulder.  
'ah, had him' Eric soon heard himself say as the dot indicating Deeks suddenly fell away.  
'Have a location for us?' Callen asked.  
The tech turned to his keyboard and started to type furiously. After a couple of minutes and well chose curses he turned to face the group again and they didn't like what they saw.  
'No, it was too short to pick up a detailed location. All I can say is it's near the bench and somewhat around the Venice area.'  
'He has a surfer spot there' Kensi said and was on her way out of the room. The rest let her, knowing it was something she needed to do.

On the drive over there, all she could think about was what she would say to him. She contemplated every possible way to face him, to get the answers to her questions.  
Not once did the idea of him not being there cross her mind. But that was what she was faced with when she arrived at the beach. Not a lot of people were out in the water and none displayed the familiar figure of her partner.  
At the beach the sight wasn't hope full either. She scanned everyone and every face but didn't see the blond hair anywhere. Finally she pulled out the phone and called Callen. She made no effort to keep the rejection from her voice when she informed them he wasn't any where on that beach and that she was going to his place.

He didn't live far away from the beach and it only took her a couple of minutes before she pulled up in front of his crib. There wasn't any light on and she couldn't see any movement inside. Still she got out and made her way over to the front door. She knocked and waited. She knocked again and even called his name. But every effort was met by silence. She contemplated for a moment to pick the lock and to let herself in. But decided against it. Deeks valued his privacy and she wasn't ready to breach thatl trust between them.


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's the next one, hope you enjoy it.  
Let me know!**

* * *

**Two.**

At first he had no idea where to go, only to get away from them. After he called the cab and had gotten in, he realized where the perfect space for hiding was. They wouldn't find him there and that was the intention.  
They hadn't called, but then again they couldn't. Despite the technology, this little space along the shore provided no signal. From where he was sitting he could see the entire beach, but they couldn't see him. And that's why he saw Kensi pass by, but she had no idea he was this close. The fact that she came to this beach warmed his heart a bit, but not enough to come out of hiding. He noticed her standing there, scanning the water, the beach. He could even see the anguish on her face, but still felt no need to come out. The hurt was still there and still too fresh to put aside. She finally made a phone call and left again.

Darkness fell even more and he woke up when he heard someone approach his hiding spot. He was on edge straight away. His hand reached for his gun. No one knew about this hiding place and it could perhaps be someone who just happened to pass by closely. But the more he listened the more he was sure the person was coming straight for this place. He now picked up the gun and silently removed the safety. Ever muscle tense, he was ready to jump on the trespasser. He believed he was ready for everything.  
'Marty, can I come in? ' okay he wasn't prepared for that one. It wasn't Kensi, it wasn't Callen or Sam, not even the few people who still liked him back at the LAPD. No it was someone that was never far from his mind, but someone he didn't expect to be here.  
'Sarah?'  
She clearly took him saying her name as a yes as her head popped between the army net covering the entrance to the place. Soon the rest of her body followed.  
'Hey handsome' she said. That cracked a smile.  
'You don't look so bad yourself' he replied taking her in. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, it even seemed to move on his own. Her clothing, a dark skirt, a white blouse and black leather jacket cling to her, revealing her slender physique underneath. Normally she would stand just a little shorter than him, but her high heels sank in the sand, revealing she was indeed a few inches shorter than him.  
There had been a time where he looked differently at her, and she probably at him, but that was past them. Now she was a good friend, someone to care about no matter what happened and that was what he needed.  
'You ready to come out of hiding?' She asked.  
'I haven't been hiding.' He replied.  
'no?' she asked 'because from what I gather you disappeared from the grid for hours. No gps, no signal nothing. I happen to be one of the very few who know this place blocks any cell phone signal or gps signal. ' she said.  
He looked at her with his puppy eyes.  
'Listen, Marty I can only assume something happened to you and it hurt. But you can't stay in here forever, you've got to face the world at some point.' Yeah, sure she had to choose this moment to become immune for his sad puppy look.  
'beside, I'm starving' she added smiling, that even got him smiling. Sarah was good company, but not when she was starving and somehow the big bad world seemed less scary than being in a small place with a grumpy Sarah. So he got up and went out, with Sarah hot on his tale.

As they stepped out, he stretched and turned to look at her. She held out her cell phone but had the decency to look a bit guilty. But he nodded. At this moment he might have felt the need for depression and taking pity on himself, he wasn't a complete jerk and perhaps the team knowing he was safe might be able to get them out his hair.

Half an hour later they sat against the wall of a small, almost deserted beach side restaurant. Both had a burger in front of them with a large basket of fries between them.  
'What are you doing here?' He asked.  
'Helping you out' was the short reply.  
'Okay, but what were you doing in LA.'  
'You mean what I was doing before I got the third degree about you? ' she asked, letting him know that his trick wasn't helping. He only nodded.  
'Danny and I were here to finish up on her case. We were getting ready to get to the airport when I got the phone call.' She said.  
'And where is Danny now?' she looked at him, but yet answered.  
'probably halfway to New York.'

'Care to enlighten me why I suddenly get a phone call from one angry lady about you?' Sarah asked breaking the silence that had fallen because both had devoured pretty much their entire burger.  
'I assume it was Hetty. She's supposed to be my boss'  
'Ah, and what does you supposed to be boss do for a living?'  
'She's the operational manager of the special ops team of NCIS' That earned him a look by Sarah.  
'What? You're not the only one who could pull it off.' He said.  
'So, you're a special agent?'  
'No, I'm the liaison officer between NCIS and LAPD, but Hetty offered me a position as a real agent.'  
'And that counts for something.' She smiled.  
'Yeah it does.' He smiled back.

Once again silence fell down between them, but it wasn't a difficult one. It never was between them. They could just sit next to each other, exist next to each other and that would be enough. Knowing the other was around was enough for him. How Hetty had figured out things about Sarah he didn't know, and part of him didn't even want to know t, but he was glad she did. Because Sarah was what he needed at the moment.  
At this moment, he hadn't told Sarah anything about the real reason, but she didn't ask. She just sat next to him, taking in the scenery, enjoying each other's company. Sarah trusted him blindly, and he returned the favor. And that was what he needed right now, knowing that there was someone who had his back, no matter what.

After an hour, and it well being on its way to midnight they left the restaurant.  
'you still have the place around here?' He asked Sarah as they slowly made their way.  
'Yeah, why'  
'Don't feel like spending time at my place.' The look Sarah send him told him he better got clean about whatever what was troubling him. He would when they got to the house.  
Suddenly he saw movement coming from the left and it took him just a second to react to it.  
'Sarah! Get down'.

The entire crew was still at the mission, everyone refusing to go home.  
Hetty watched the action, or better lack of action in the bullpen. 3 dejected agents sat at their desks, staring into nothing. Well perhaps not in to nothing as they all had their gaze on the screen in the corner. On that screen Eric showed his search for Deeks's cell phone. It showed a map of LA, but the tell tale dot that would tell them the owner, or at least where the phone was, was missing and it frustrated everyone.

Hetty assumed they were somehow willing for the dot to appear, but hours had passed by and the screen remained blank. And the more the time passed the more worried she got. Deeks was a loner, but that was also his strength. He managed to hold his own out there in the world. He had spend years alone, with no one watching his back or providing a plan B when everything went wrong. It had been an adjustment for him to work in a team, a team that seemed to care and had his back. He had been so used to the rejection he felt from the LAPD that she thought she had made a mistake bringing him in. But slowly Deeks started to fit in and the partnership between Kensi and him started to work. He would drive her crazy, he would and could drive everyone crazy, but underneath that easy going, spreading lame jokes around kind a guy hid a professional. Even Sam came to admire him, although she knew he wouldn't admit that.

Deeks had something the rest of the team lacked. He had a sunny disposition, almost childlike. Everyday seemed to be a new adventure for him and he intended to live it to the fullest. The 3 others were hard, sometime cold professionals. Not that they didn't do their jobs, they were the best, but sometimes they seemed to lose contact with the outer world, to lose a connection to how the real world actually worked, without the secrecy and the lies. Deeks brought that to the group and it had seemed like a connection that worked well. Well until today that was. After establishing that nothing had happened to him, that he hadn't been taken by some vicious gang an another fear crept up her spine.  
Walking away had been a conscious decision and she wondered what had led to the Detective making this choice. And she knew, by looking at the remaining 3 members of the team she knew she was looking at the cause, the origin of the man's decision. Solving that would take more time and some harsh words uttered at the right time. But it had to wait. First he had to be found, safe and sound. If that didn't happen, she wasn't sure she would have a team left to re assemble.

At first she didn't want to make the call, but seconds turned in to minutes and and more frustrated pair of technical aids. They had been able to follow his trail until suddenly the dot disappeared from the screen. It had been there for only a short period and Eric didn't have enough to pinpoint the last known location. That had sealed the deal and she had retreated to her office and searched for his file. She leafed through it until she found the number.

Her cell phone ringing shook her out of her thoughts and when she looked at the number her heart skipped a beat.  
'Lange' she answered, and managed to keep her voice emotionless.  
'It's Sarah' the woman on the other side said. Hetty listened very carefully to the background noises, they or Sarah at least was near the beach as she could hear the waves crashing in .  
'Miss McArthur, what's the news'  
'found him.' The two words made a smile appear on her face, not for long though.  
'He's not ready to come back, though. I'll keep an eye on him, but it's best to leave him alone for awhile. '  
'Okay, I'll respect that' she replied. She wasn't happy about it, but knew she had to trust the other woman.  
'Miss McArthur?'  
'Yes'  
'Call me if you need anything.'  
Silence met her, but she could still hear the waves in the background so the line was still there. She could almost imagine the scene if they were still together at that point.  
'I will' and then she heard the noise of someone ending a phone call and the line went death.

Her eyes hurt from watching the screen but she couldn't look away, afraid that the dot that would be him appear without her noticing. Hours passed but she didn't give up on the staring game. A quick sideway glance told her the others were doing the same.

With all her might she wished for the dot to appear but nothing happed. But she kept hoping, even praying because she was afraid what would happen if she didn't. The more time passed the more the walls around her felt like crumbling. He was her partner for crying out loud, he wasn't supposed to walk out on her. But surprisingly that wasn't what hurt the most. No what hurt the most was that clearly the reason for walking out on her, had to be found with her. Callen and Sam, well they worked together but they didn't spend as much time with him as she did. No it was not something they did, but something she did that made him turn away from them.

In her mind she played out the tape in the garage, watching him walk away. If only she knew what was going on inside that thick head of his, they wouldn't be sitting here. They wouldn't need to find him because he would be home watching some TV and coming back to work the next day.  
If only she asked what was wrong, why he was so quiet on the drive back, then she would ….  
The train of thoughts came to a screeching halt when the realization hit home. It was like a ton of bricks fell right on top of her and she felt the air getting knocked out of her. If only they asked him. They never did. They never did ask him something, they just expected him to be there. Even tonight they didn't ask him if he was alright because they never did. He usually was the one updating them. And he almost always used the sentence: I'm okay as well, should anyone care.

They did, well she did for sure. More than she would ever admit. But she never showed it, never let him know she did think about him during the ops, especially during the fire fights. She could blame it on her father and how he had died back then, when she was just a and her need to shut out the rest of the world. But she knew it was bullshit the minute occurred to her. _He changed for the team, he tried to fit in _the voice inside her head chastised her. And there was no denying it. Deeks had changed, or at least tried to change from a loner to a team player and he was getting pretty good at it. But only to be stonewalled by the rest. They ridiculed him, sometimes even questioned his actions and she never defended him, her partner. No, more than often would join in the fun. At one point the fun part was lost, well clearly for him but she had been too self-absorbed to realize it. And now it was too late. He had made the decision to go back to the place, the world he knew the best. The world where he was on his own.

Her mind heard the cell phone noise back, somewhere from Hetty's desk. But it didn't transfer to her brain. No, she was focusing on the screen in the corner and more specifically on the dot that had suddenly appeared out of now where.  
They had found him, now it would be only a matter of time before they would see him again. She made a promise to herself. She would tell him how much she needed him, how much she respected him and how much he meant to the team.

'Mr Beale' Eric's head popped up from the screen of his tablet as their boss entered the bullpen.  
'I need you to track this number' Hetty said as she gave him a small piece of paper. Questions marks were clearly visible in his eyes, but he did as his boss told him to do and entered the digits in the system. It didn't take long to him to find who the number belonged to.  
'ah, that was quick' he said, getting the attention of the rest of the team.  
He pushed some buttons and the screen he was looking at now also showed on the screen.  
'Okay, this is strange. The number belongs to Sarah McArthur. She's a FBI agent, stationed at New York. She's part of the missing persons team.' He said as he read the file he had been able to pull up.  
'what's strange about that Eric?' Sam asked.  
'I'm tracking the number, Sam and she or at least the phone is at the same spot Deeks is.'  
A smile appeared on Hetty's face. ' so she's still with him.'  
'What do you mean, she's still with him?' Callen demanded from his boss 'what aren't you telling us?'  
'Hetty, what' he been doing in the company of an FBI agent?'  
'What Miss McArthur does for a living isn't important.' Hetty said.  
'Mr. Beale see if you can find some images for us'. The blond man nodded and started to work.  
'What's important? Why are you happy she's with him?' Kensi asked.  
'Because, Miss Blye, with Miss McArthur at his side, Mr. Deeks is in the presence of a friend'.


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took so long to update, wasn't planning on it. Chapter 3 was done untill I came up with an idea for the end and had to redo the entire thing.  
Busy week at work didn't make it any easiers.**

**About Sarah, she's someone I came up with while writing a Without A Trace story. I got extremly stuck on that one so never finished it, but figured she would be perfect for this one. I kept her like she was in that story as I have everything I need about her, hence the small references I made and will make in the coming chapters, but you don't need to know about the show to understand Sarah.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!**

**Enjoy**

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**Three**

'_Because, Miss Blye, with Miss McArthur at his side, Mr. Deeks is in the presence of a friend'._

The words filled the room with silence and pretty much stunned every one. Perhaps the time for harsh words came sooner than expected.  
The only thing heard in the room was the tapping of Eric's fingers on the tablet and even he was well aware how unnatural loud that sounded. Soon enough the attention shifted to the screen as he managed to pull up the security camera's around the spot both cell phones were at the moment. It took him a while to find the right one, but there they were. 2 persons walking side by side.  
The image wasn't great, created by the fact it had gone dark outside and it being city security camera's. But it was clearly their team member and his so called FBI friend.

Kensi had no reason to doubt her boss, but still she couldn't sum up the courage to call the woman a friend. Anger and guilt were pretty easy targets to blame her feelings on, but a green eyed monster was starting to creep in as well. Especially when Deeks suddenly stopped, faced the woman and engulfed her in a big bear hug. It should have been her that he hugged or clung to when he had to face whatever he needed to face. But then again, if it were her they wouldn't be in this situation and they wouldn't be watching the two of them get inside a small beach side restaurant.

Being an undercover agent had thought him a thing or two about body language. Often that was what they had to rely on to survive. And Deeks' body told an entire story and not one that was positive for his team. Callen saw a relaxed Deeks walking next to the FBI agent.  
The last time whenever Deeks was around, he had been extremely tense, like he was ready to run. Out in the field tension was good, it meant that you were ready for whatever the case might throw at you. But the blond detective remained extremely tense when they were back in the mission or upstairs in the ops room. Whenever they sat at their desks cracking jokes, well face it most about the liaison officer, everyone was at ease except him. At first Callen had credited it to being on the receiving end of the banter, but instead of decreasing the tension went up with every day that passed by. And Callen wondered how he didn't pick up on some of the tell tale signs something was not going as planned.

Tells that had been completely missed and ignored until the final straw and a sign they couldn't miss or ignore. Callen never had someone walk out on him before like that. Of course he had enough experiences of being left behind, treated like he barely existed, but nothing like this. Deeks liked this kind of work, enjoyed becoming someone else and bring justice. Hell he even went as far to change his behavior and started to become more team orientated. Of course there had been hick ups al long the way. The guy had been on his own for years, being a part of a team for more than a year hadn't been long enough to wipe out that completely. But they never gave him credit for the team part. No they picked out his lapses and made him pay for it. Considering their behavior it was a surprise Deeks had stayed that long to begin with. If it had been him, he wasn't sure how long he would have stayed.

His glance travelled along the group and came to rest of the female agent at the desk next to him. They were all taking this hard, but Kensi seemed to be floored by what had happened. He could guess at the thoughts going through her head and how this might remind her of Dom. Callen wasn't sure she would survive another partner getting lost.  
The hiss escaping her as the video Deeks hugged the woman made that fear grow even bigger. He had long suspected there was more to the story of those two. Deeks had clearly been attracted to the brown haired agent, and while at the beginning he was sure Kensi wouldn't take it, he wasn't so sure about it now. But no matter whether there was a thing developing between the two, one thing was clear, they had to get Deeks back. Because without Kensi and Deeks there was no team and he knew for sure if Deeks would escape them, she would be gone as well.

A good hour later they noticed the pair exiting the restaurant. They were walking along to the parking lot, talking to each other. Suddenly a movement caught the eye of the entire team. A minivan sped towards the pair. The side door opened and a shooting spray opened, leaving the pair hardly enough time to duck behind a parked car.

'What's happening!' Kensi asked, jumping up  
'They are getting shot at' Sam said.  
'I can bloody see that' she yelled back and was on her way to the door.  
'Kens, where are you going?' Callen asked.  
'I'm gonna help them.'  
'How?' She eyed him and oh boy if looks could kill he but he didn't back down. He couldn't, not for her own good.  
'Don't tell me what to do, Callen' she spat out.  
'Kens,….'  
'You didn't even ask him if he was alright! And now you're once again abandoning him'  
She didn't even have to explain what she was talking about. It had crossed his mind that it had probably been the last straw for the blond cop. He walked towards her and pulled her close. At first she struggled, tried to break free, but he wouldn't let her. Soon the walls crumbled and she fell against him crying.

'They are retreating' Sam said. He had kept his eyes on the screen while Callen dealt with angry and now crying Kensi. Everyone turned their attention to the screen and saw the pair run from car to car until they arrived at the shadows from some houses. The darkness engulfed them and no matter what Eric tried he couldn't pick them up again. But it wasn't just them who seemed to have lost track of the detective and the agent as they could see the shooters, 4 in total looking around. Finally they gave up and piled again in the van and sped off.  
Silence remained in the room and no one seemed to breathe for minutes.  
Minutes passed by and to the far end of the screen they could see them emerging again from the shadows. Sam released the breath he wasn't aware he had held and couldn't help but feel pride running through him. Deeks was more capable then he gave him credit for and he made a mental note to tell the cop that when they met again. Because in Sam's mind there was no doubt they would get him back, if needed be with force.

Tension decreased in the room when Hetty spoke and ordered them home. Of course she was met with resistance but she was firm about her decision. It was well past midnight and at the moment they couldn't do anything. Deeks and Sarah were safe, for now and if the team wanted to help them, they would have to be on top of their game. They couldn't drop their game because they didn't get enough sleep and finally everyone accepted. Callen offered to drive Kensi home, an offer she accepted. Sam tailed along and they ended up sleeping at Kensi's house. She in her bed, them on the couch and the ground.

If anyone happened to look outside the window and saw them pass by, they would seem like any other couple coming back from some social event. Except they weren't and they certainly weren't on their way back from a social event. Luckily Sarah's place wasn't that far and they reached it fairly quick.

Once inside, Sarah's bag still stood on the table, probably where she had put it down when Hetty called. For the rest the house had that particularly clean look of when occupants had just cleaned it up and had left not too long ago. Leaving the front of the house in the dark as not to alarm anyone on the outside, they made their way to the back of the house and into the kitchen.

Marty Deeks had always loved the kitchen in this place. It was an open space, overlooking the garden. At day it had a splendid light falling in and he could clearly remember all the time he had spend here. Supposedly to study, but often just staring out. Sarah flipping on the light made him turn around and face her. Her features were a mix of concern, worry and fear. He knew he would have to come clean to her.  
'What just happened?' She asked as she sat down at the table.  
'We got shot at.' Came the reply. 'You okay?'  
'Yeah, it's just….' She trailed off.  
'Been awhile since someone took a shot at you?' All she did was nod. She might be a special agent and she might have had all the training needed, the missing person unit was a little low on the gun fights.

'I'm taking a shower' Sarah announced and got up from the table. It was then that her noticed she didn't use her left shoulder that much. He trailed her to the bathroom and denied her to close the door on him.  
'Let me take a look'  
'It's nothing. I bumped into the car when you pulled me down.'  
'Sarah'  
'What, Marty it's nothing.'  
'Just let me take a look. It's not like I haven't seen it before'  
She relented and let him take off her blouse.  
His breath got caught in his throat as he noticed which shoulder it was.  
'It's not like you haven't seen that before' Sarah said, using his own sentence against him as she felt him putting his index finger on the offending spot. The lines were faded and someone who didn't know probably didn't notice. But the scar was standing out brightly for him and he traced the lines with his finger.  
He hadn't be there when it happened and part of him was glad for it. judging by how crazy he had gone waiting in the hospital before he got any news, he often wondered what would have happened if he had been there, when the shot was fired. Because that was what the scar was, the tells of a shot wound, a bullet that had gone through and through and miraculously managed to miss anything vital in the shoulder area .  
Silently he checked over the shoulder and concluded she would have one hell of a bruise the next morning or something, because it was getting quite late or perhaps pretty early.

After they had both showered, the adrenaline of the shooting had subsided enough to get to sleep. He wasn't surprised that she didn't go for the other room, but opted instead to follow him into the smaller one. They both needed that human contact as much as possible. They were grown people, and the itch between them had been scratched thoroughly in the past. They just needed each other for comfort and knowing that they weren't alone.  
'Sarah?' his voice drifted in the darkness.  
'Yeah'  
'Thank you for showing up' Silence met his words and he wondered if she had fallen asleep on him, but finally her voice, loaded with sleep came through.  
'you're welcome'

Not much later he heard and well felt her breathing even out and he knew she had fallen asleep for real this time. He pulled her a little closer and stared at the ceiling. The events of the day passed by and he truly was grateful for Hetty snooping around in his files. Because if she hadn't Sarah would be back in New York and he in some serious trouble. But Hetty had found out about the brunette and now he was holding her, cuddled up to him, head resting on his chest.  
He lay there for awhile, thinking about the 3 women in his life. Hetty was right, Sarah was the right one for this moment. Unlike the two others, Sarah was his mirror, emotions on the outside, her heart on her sleeve . He needed and still needed someone like this, someone he could pour his heart out to. But all that had to wait until the next day as his eyelids became heavier with every passing second and he finally succumbed to a deep sleep.

The next day rays of sunshine on his face woke him up. He checked his watch, 1 pm. Sarah was still asleep and he slipped from the bed and into the bathroom as quietly as possibly.  
A quick look around the kitchen told him that nothing edible had survived the last cleaning round and he decided that a quick run to the store around the corner was needed. Coffee, or the smell of it usually did the trick with Sarah and waking up. And even now, years later it still held the same magic over her as the minute the aroma began the spread, noises were heard in the bed and then bathroom.

'You look like Nell with that tablet' he said as he watched her working on it. They were sitting at the table having something between a late lunch and extremely early dinner. Sarah was checking the usual news sites to see if the shooting was mentioned somewhere.  
'Who's Nell?' she asked.  
'She's,… Nell's an analyst.'  
'with NCIS, I presume? '  
'Yeah, why?'  
'You never speak fondly of members of the LAPD Squad.' She said as she placed the tablet on the table. She was right about that one. Why he sticked around, well even he couldn't really answer that. Being a cop was not a way of living, it was a way of being and he wasn't sure he could give that up.  
'Why don't you tell me about the team?' It was clear which one she meant. Normally he couldn't tell them, it would be some sort of professional suicide, but Sarah, he knew was to be trusted.  
'Well at the top, you've got Hetty. She's about this tall' he started as he pointed with his hand in the air. 'but don't get fooled by her height or lack of it. She can kick my ass anytime. She's like a ninja, there when you least expect it, and without making a sound.  
G Callen. nothing more, whole history is a blank canvas filled with spots of information. He's the agent in charge and makes the decisions. Eternal doubter if you ask me and trying to make up for something by being cold. It's not like he doesn't have any emotions, he just keeps them in check or at least tries to.  
Sam Hanna. Ex-seal Beast of guy, heart of gold. Could probably break me into two without breaking a sweat but thrives on honor and pride. I admire the guy, don't tell him that, but I do. But sometimes I wish he would come down from the lecture stool about personal safety and let things play themselves out.  
Nell and Eric, look like nerds, are nerds but pretty awesome ones. They can get you into pretty much everything you need and get you backstopped to perfection. '

'And that leaves Kensi' Sarah broke his monologue.  
'Yeah, that leaves Kensi' he mimicked her. He looked at her, ocean blue eyes locking with pools of dark brown.  
' what can I say, she's…. well she's Kensi'.  
'That says a lot' Sarah replied with a smile. He loved her smile. He loved the fact that the smile could be seen in her eyes a fraction before her lips curled up. He loved that fact that with that short sentence Sarah had summed up everything he wanted to say. She knew what Kensi meant to him without him actually divulging anything. They knew each other inside out, knowing what the other would be thinking. When she had gone back to New York he had feared that the connection between them would be broken. But the opposite had occurred. Being on different sides of the country had actually strengthened the connection.

'What?' She asked as he kept staring at her, the smile slowly dying.  
'The FBI looking for more people?' he asked and her face changed completely. The smile was really gone and got replaced by worry.  
'The FBI is always looking for good people' she started. He had to give her credit for the fact that she kept looking at him even when she was about to deliver blow.  
'but they aren't looking for you.' She softly said.  
'why's that?' a little more angrier then he planned. 'you think I wouldn't be able to pull it off?'  
'No, I think you would be great.' She said.  
'That's what's the freaking problem'.  
'You already have a place, Marty, you already have a team. You've just got to let them in'.  
He didn't stop staring at her, he even increased it. but Sarah took the scrutiny without a word. Things, words, emotions, his mind was a turmoil of feelings. There were things he wanted to say to her, to yell at her, scream that she was so wrong and didn't know him, didn't know what he had been going through. But they all died before they managed to get to his mouth and he got the chance to say them out loud. She was right, like she usually was.  
'yeah well, I'm not that sure they want me back after yesterday.'  
'You cannot be sure of that. There might still be hope for you.'  
'Sarah, I walked out on them. They don't take that lightly, they probably want to beat the shit out of me'.  
'Well you can be quite annoying, so couldn't blame them' Sarah replied. He looked at her in shock, until he realized she had made a joke to crack the tension and to his surprise it was kinda working.

'What made you walk out?'  
The question was asked in all honesty and seemed strange after the joke but she had caught him by surprise and he figured that had been her plan. For a moment he wanted to lie, but figured that it was childish. Sarah was there with a plan. She was there for him, to have his back but also determined to get him back to the team, one he belonged to. So he told her, he told her about the jokes, the never relenting remarks he got, how they never seemed to ask about him, how he was feeling and she just listened.  
'That's it?' she asked after he had finished. He looked at her rather shyly. Hearing himself say everything he kind of realized that while everything seemed big at the time, it had been a rather childish reaction of him. But he had needed to get away, to be able to breathe and not be told he wasn't doing it right. She knew and he silently blessed her for not calling him out on that one.  
'So, we've got to work on your techniques and how to get you back in the team.' She said as she stood up from the table and took him in a hug.  
'Beside, come winter you would freeze to death in New York'

* * *

**A lot of talking, but I felt I needed to get this out of the way before the next chapters.  
**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey, sorry it took so long. But it's been incredibly busy at work so whenever I got home I didn't really have to enegry to write.  
But I have two weeks off, so hopefully enough time to work on this one.**

**Anyway, here's the next one.  
It's a lot of talking, but decided to put some of the history between Sarah and Deeks in it. That's why I cut it short, found that it was heavy enough alright.**

Thanks for the followers and the reviews! Keep them coming. Any idea's to put in the story, just let me know. I don't mind critism as long as it is constructive!

* * *

**Four**

The case and Deeks gone missing had taken its toll on the team and when they finally had succumbed to sleep their bodies had taken over. And that was why they had slept a lot longer than planned.  
After checking pretty much the entire kitchen Sam had managed to get a reasonable healthy breakfast on the table.

'What?' Callen asked as Sam had walked, paced between the counter and the table for, well honestly he had lost count of the times Sam had paced the small distance.  
'What?' came back.  
'Something is bothering you. Make it easier and tell me about it.'  
'There is something about that friend of his. I don't know it just rubs me the wrong way.' Sam started as he sat down.  
'Okay, but I don't think Hetty would have let her come if she wasn't to be trusted. ' Callen said.  
'I know, but Eric told that she works and lives in New York. The timing doesn't fit. Even if she got a seat on the next plane leaving New York, it would still take her more than 4 hours to get here.'  
'Okay, I'll give you that, but what's with the four hours.' Callen asked.  
'That's the time that passed between him walking out of the garage and Sarah getting him out of his hiding spot. So how did she get here so fast?' Sam asked.  
'Perhaps she got on a private plane.' Callen offered as answer.  
'perhaps, but even that would have taken longer than 4 hours to get here. What if she had been around, what if….'  
'Don't say that' Kensi's voice cut through Sam's. 'I've been thinking about the timing as well but I don't want to go there. Not unless we really have to.'  
'Well, we could always ask Eric.' Callen said.

That became their next mission. After finishing eating and a quick stop at Callen's en Sam's place they found themselves up in ops room not one hour later.  
'Eric, we need you to track Sarah's movements'. Sam said, well no more demanded.  
'what, why? ' Eric asked. The uncomfortable look on the technician's face should have told them enough, but they were too worried to notice.  
'We need to know how she ended up here in LA so quickly.' That certainly wasn't a question.  
'I…. I don't think I can do that?'Eric managed to get out.  
'Why?'  
'Because I told him not to.' Hetty's voice rumbled through the room. They turned to watch their little boss, but were surprised to see her face on the big screen.  
' While I understand your worry Mr. Hanna, a little trust wouldn't hurt. You really think I would call someone to find Deeks without first looking into them and see if they were who they claimed to be? '  
They had no answer to that and actually felt guilty. They trusted their boss and they would have to do it on this matter as well.  
'I would like you all to meet me at the boatshed.' Hetty said and then disappeared from the screen. It was a clue for the time to immediately honor that order and left the room. They didn't like it, all they wanted to was go out and find their missing team member. But Hetty wasn't one to be dismissed like that.

Half an hour later they filed into the main room of the boatshed, finding their boss sitting in a seat not looking all too happy.  
'I would have expected more of you guys.' She said in a rather scolding way.  
'I'm sorry Hetty, but the time frame had us wondering. We were going to a place we didn't like and therefore wanted to find out how she had gotten here.' Callen said.  
' Miss McArthur has been in LA for the last 4 days.' Hetty said. The look on her team's face told her what place they had reached in their train of thoughts and she realized that perhaps she should have giving this piece of information a little earlier. Yet a little punishment and a little more worry were perhaps what they needed as well as a way to realize what they stood to lose.  
'But not for what you think. There hasn't been any communication between the two until yesterday and until I asked her to find him. Miss McArthur had been here on FBI business, tying off some loose ends to a case .'

The relief inside the room was nearly palpable. There was no need to think that Sarah had somewhat helped Deeks to get away and perhaps she could be used to bring him back to the team.  
'Like I said before, I would like some trust in my actions but I'm not a complete monster. I know you need to know a little more about Sarah so I required someone to give that intel. Someone who could be said to be impartial in this matter. ' She nodded to the screen and the 3 agents turned to look at it.

Seconds later it came to life showing a room and the smiling face of Ray, Deeks childhood friend.  
'Hey Wikipedia, long time no see.' Ray said as he noticed who he was looking at.  
' Hey Ray, how you doing?'.  
'I'm fine. Now what's the big emergency?' He asked.  
'I … euh, we've got a slight situation with Deeks and we needed to know some stuff.' Kensi started. Ray just nodded, but the smile on his face got displaced by a worried frown.  
'What can you tell us about Sarah McArthur?'  
'Sarah? Marty's ray of sunshine? Haven't heard about her in long time.' Ray said.  
That statement lighted the room even more, the tension literally ebbed away. The endearment Ray had used told them all what they needed to hear. Kensi couldn't help to feel a little jealousy creeping up. She knew of course that it had been stupid to think like that, but she often saw herself as the only rock Deeks had to lean on. An idea strengthened by the fact that Deeks kept quiet about his past. And although it was nice to hear that Sarah was no threat, it was confronting to know that there was someone else out there, with him that held the same place she had claimed for herself.

' Sarah's been Marty's savior. She won't accept that title but she earned it. ' Ray went on.  
'Back when we were 18, well let's say that Marty was a loose cannon ready to go off at any time. Especially when his mom died. It was like he got all fired up and going down the same path I was on. One night, we're at a bar when the LAPD busts the place. Marty hasn't done anything, but he gets arrested just because he was with me. Thankfully the judge wasn't a tight ass like the arresting officer and was lenient on Marty. The charges would be dropped if he behaved himself and went to study. I begged him to take the opportunity, to make something of his life and not throw it away like I had done. Finally he gave in and went and got himself enrolled, in law school of all places. A few weeks into the year, he comes to visit me and he's all changed. The loose cannon is gone and he's back in control, looking at life in a positive way. And all of that because of someone he met.'  
'Sarah.' Callen said. Ray nodded.  
'Yeah, Marty was head over heels in love with her and from what I gathered she returned the feeling. But Sarah wasn't one to be played around with and kept him straight. He spent more time surfing then coming to see me. Although I liked the visits, being in prison that's something you look forward to, I was glad he found another goal in his life.'  
'What happened between the two?' Sam asked.  
'Well, strangely they took the road backwards. Going from lovers to best friends, with a pit stop at the friends with benefits state, I'm sure of it. Anyway, they've been best friends since then. Even with them living on different sides of the country. '  
'Any reason he would never mention her?' Sam asked.  
'Don't know. Sarah was his emergency number, even after she moved back to New York. Perhaps that was his reason, so she wouldn't be a target or anything.'

Kensi wanted to ask something, to pick up on something Ray had said but couldn't as Eric's face appeared on the screen.  
'Hey, I just got a hit on one of Deeks' aliases. Max Gentry just rented a car.' He said and disappeared again.  
'Why?' Kensi asked, her former question put on the back burner for now.  
'Why would he choose Max Gentry? Sarah clearly knows him, so he would not need to hide his identity from her.' She went on.  
'Because Sarah knows Max. Hell she's probably the reason Max ever saw the light of day.' Ray said, making them all look at him rather intrigued.  
'Look, it's not my place to go into the details, but Marty's childhood hasn't been a walk in the park. Because of that he suffered from nightmares. Trust Sarah to come up with a solution. She had read somewhere that writing everything he dreamed about down would help him. It was like letting go, but on paper. I figured it was rubbish, but it worked. Marty had books full of it lying around, but he slept through the night and that was all we cared about. And when later in life Marty needed a badass alias? Well let's say Max was just waiting to be pulled out of the pages of those books.'

The room fell silent after that. Deeks hadn't like it when he had to resurrect Max. Kensi always had the feeling that Max represented bad memories and Ray's words had confirmed those suspicion. It got her wondering what he had to live through as a child. It clearly had been more, a lot more than the little snippets he had told her.  
'Ray, you said something about Sarah being a target. What do you mean by that? Sam asked.  
'Well, Sarah joined the Navy after their bar exams. Her father was a former marine and he had gotten her into the Navy for her internship. I suppose Marty figured that it would mean she would stay in LA for real. But 4 years in, she works together with the FBI on something and well I suppose they know a talented woman when they see one. They offered her a position, one she couldn't refuse.'  
'What's that?' Kensi asked, getting a bit irritated that Ray took so long to answer the question.  
'Came down, I'm getting there. The FBI had a space opening up on their missing person team, their New York based team. Sarah, never making a secret that she had only come to LA to study jumped at the change. The Navy couldn't offer her anything that would top that.  
Marty and Sarah had a big row about it, shouting and all. Didn't talk for close to a week. One day Marty meets up with me, I suppose to let some steam off. That's when he gets the call and I have never seen anyone so pale like that.'  
' Why?' Kensi asked.  
'That call came from the base, telling him that Sarah had been taken to hospital because of the fact she had been shot.'

The room fell silent again as they got their heads around the piece of information. It seemed like Sarah and Marty shared an eventful past  
'I have never seen him like that, all worked up. In the end Sarah was fine, well-considered the circumstances. She had been shot in the shoulder, the bullet went straight through and had managed to miss anything vital. After that Marty's stance on her going back to New York changed. He figured she was safer there than in LA.'  
'Did they ever figure out who had done it?' Callen asked.  
'As far as I know that case is still open. A suspect had been found, but not enough to tie him to the case. Marty had started as an undercover cop a little before the shooting. He had been part of an investigation that brought down a dirty cop. Word on the street was that he had done it, to get back at Marty, just to prove something. But like I said, there wasn't any evidence to bring him in. ' Ray said.  
'Who did the investigation?' Sam asked. 'NCIS, LAPD?'  
'I think LAPD, Sarah never really enlisted so I don't think you guys would get involved. But why so interested in Sarah and in her shooting?' Ray asked and they could see he was getting really worried.  
'Sarah's in town, together with Deeks. And they have been shot at. You think that dirty cop would be angry enough to get back at them after all these years?' Kensi asked.  
'I don't know, I really don't. His name , the dirty cop that is, is Jason Carter. I haven't heard about him, well since my retirement as a criminal, but as far as I know he's still walking around. And his grudge against Marty clearly had the time to grow. ' Ray said. The team nodded, perhaps they had a lead on the guys who had shot at the pair yesterday evening. This was a time to show Deeks that they had his back, that they would help him out and show him that they cared.  
'hey guys, get them to safety will you? Sarah's been the reason Marty turned out ok. I hate to think what he would do, if someone injured her or even worse.' Ray said.  
'We will, Ray, you've got our word' Callen said.

'ah, Ray?'  
'Yes Wikipedia.' Came the reply.  
' I need to know. Back at the airport when we dropped you off….'  
'Yeah, that was Sarah we were talking about. You and Fern? You could be sisters.'

* * *

**I'm aware that I'm not really following the same timeline as the show, but just bare with me.  
I needed Ray as an inside into their past lifes, so that's why I used him.**

**Hope you liked it!**


	6. Chapter 5

**So here's the next installement!  
A very big thank you to all taking the time to review or follow this story. It means the world to me.  
Keep them coming!.  
**

* * *

**Five**

'Max? really?' Sarah asked as they got in the car he had rented. He just shrugged his shoulders.

They were heading towards his place, to gather some stuff, well more precisely his laptop. Marty had an idea about who had been shooting at them, well who would have ordered a hit like that and he needed his laptop for it.  
Sarah had tried with hers, but it seemed like the bureau back in NY had shut off her access to the FBI network so that was a dead end.

' Okay, I can get that you don't want the LAPD on our ass, but I'm pretty sure they know Max as well.' She started. He wasn't giving her any answers.

'Does the team know about Max?' He felt her searching his face and knew she would find what she was looking for.

'They do, don't they? And Max,…. Oh' as she puts two and two together.

'You want them to know it's you, that's why you chose Max. You won't pick Max for no reason. And I know Max as well, so whatever intel they've gathered about me they'll figure that one out as well. Max isn't a cover up, it's a way of tell them we're alright'.

He smiled inwardly, he never could hide something from her and it seemed like the years passing by hadn't changed that.

'Still think calling them would be a lot easier' her voice drifted off and made him think about the discussion they had had not to long ago.

Sarah had wanted to call in, tell them what they were suspecting. He didn't want to. He didn't feel like talking to them, not for something like this. This was something from the past and he didn't need their opinion about it. He could almost imagine their opinions, somehow find a way to tell how he got it wrong.

The problem was he couldn't disagree with that. When he accepted the role of an undercover agent he knew certain dangers were attached to it. But he had figured that those dangers were merely pointed towards him. Never ever, not even in his wildest dreams he had figured that those dangers would also extend to that ones he cared about. He would always remember that day, that afternoon when all hell broke loose and actually felt the earth disappearing from underneath his feet. Sarah had been an innocent party in it, not that it had stopped the bastard. He had known what Sarah meant to him and was clearly prepared to go for cold blooded murder to get back at him. Sarah getting shot in the shoulder had been a warning, not more. A warning of what was to come. In 3 minutes, the phone call informing him had taken just 3 minutes, his entire world had been turned upside down and he couldn't wait for Sarah to leave for New York. Although it broke him seeing her leave, she would be safe there, save from whatever bastard that had her in his sights.

It wasn't just some bastard, but a dirty cop. He had been part of the investigation that uncovered everything and seemingly paying for it. He had done what he could to prove Jason had been the one behind the shooting. But at LAPD they didn't let him anywhere near the case and Ray had been a blank as well. Everyone seemed to know Jason had been the one, but nobody had found evidence to tie him to the case. But perhaps now, all those years later he might have a chance to rectify the mistakes made back then. He intended on finishing this and perhaps then he would think about turning back to the team. At least he would have something to show for himself.

* * *

'Ray's right. LAPD got the case, NCIS handed it over because Sarah had been a civilian back at the time. ' Sam said as he tossed the spectacularly thin file on his desk.

'Anything useful in there?' Callen asked.

'Not really. Sarah was shot in broad day light, on the base. It happened just at midday. Sarah and a friend were sitting outside having lunch. The only investigation we did was to search how he got inside the base. Turned out he never did, they found the casing just outside the fence. The guy had been a sniper so didn't really needed to be close by. After that the investigation had been handed over to the LAPD because Sarah had been an civilian at the time.' Sam said detested.

Callen understood the feeling his partner had been going through. The Navy took care of their own and even though Sarah had been working for them a clear line between enlisted and civilian personnel was made and it left a sour taste in his mouth.

Callen could only wonder how the attack had left Deeks. They all knew the dangers when it came to undercover operations, but they never prepared you for some of it consequences. And the young cop had experienced firsthand what those dangers meant. A part of him wanted to question him, asking him how the dirty cop had known about Sarah. Part of him wanted to tell him that he hadn't been as careful as he could have been. But another part quickly berated him for those lines of thinking. He had no idea what really happened. Perhaps this Jason type had known about Sarah before Deeks became an undercover cop and bringing him down.  
He made an mental note to himself as well. This part of thinking had let to the position they were now, one man down. Deeks hadn't left because Sarah had been in town and he needed to talk to her. No the detective had left because he didn't feel like he belonged here and had gotten sick and tired of their antics.

Hetty knew, he was sure of it and yet she had done nothing to prevent it. Perhaps she hadn't know about the walking out, from the footage it seemed like he had made the decision right then and there. But she knew more then she let them know, again nothing new under the sun there. But she had used the information as a way of punishment and a way to let them know what they stood to lose. Hetty wasn't about to let Deeks slip away from them, but she wouldn't do that without them realizing something. And somehow, deep down he knew she was right. They had been so convinced about themselves, yes full of themselves. No way Deeks would leave them and settle for something less like going back to LAPD. But he did and by that he pinpointed to the real problem this team was having. While they were great at what they did, they sucked at emotions and how to deal with. And their lack of it and well their lack of wanting to improve in that area had brought them to this point.

'Why don't we go to his place?' Kensi's voice cut through the silence and brought him back to reality.

'Why?' Sam asked.

'Perhaps we can find something concerning the shooting? Look the LAPD probably wouldn't have let him anywhere near the investigation, but he had Ray as an informant. And I think we know him well enough to know he wouldn't back down from it. So perhaps he kept some things from the LAPD and maybe we get really lucky and he kept some of that at his place.'

While they hadn't really spoken about the promise Callen had made to Ray, they all understood the meaning behind it. If they could solve this and bring Sarah to safety, they could be on the way back to becoming a team again.  
But the younger agent had a second goal as well. Fern, the name she had hated had not been a spur of the moment thing with Deeks. It had been and perhaps still was Sarah's nickname, no doubt giving to her by her very own partner. She was now extremely keen on meeting this FBI agent who shared a lot of history with Deeks. She wasn't just sure of that was a good or a bad thing.

The ride over to the Deeks place happened in silence. As they stood in front of the door , they first did knock. They weren't complete animals. But without a sound coming from inside, they could assume he wasn't in. Not that Eric hadn't told that before. He had lost Sarah's signal, but the last time he had picked it up, she had been nowhere near this place. But they had been a bit more lucky. Eric had managed to track her inside a house. A little digging told them that the house actually belonged to Sarah and they figured they had spend the night there. Assuming he had been safe there and perhaps not yet willing to talk to them, they had left it be. Deeks would be handled at a later date. Solving this cold case had become their goal and with that in the back of the net, they would have leverage to get him back.

The house was tidier then he had it expected to be. But then again he had somewhat expected to find the same situation as back at Kensi's place and that wasn't a reference for anything. Deeks lived in what could be called an airy, sunny place. Big windows letting in the sunshine and gave him a view on the ocean. Sam figured that when he opened one of the windows he could hear the ocean and the waves crashing on the beach. He wasn't here to listen to the roars of crashing waves. He was here to find something that would get them somewhere. He had been angry when he read the file on Sarah's shooting. She had spend 4 years working for the Navy and when she needed it the most it had backed away from her. If he was honest, he knew the reason behind it. The Navy employed a lot of civilians, but still she had been shot on a base. The one place where she should have been safe. But the Navy worked by codes and Sarah had been one that fell outside those and it had him burning with anger. Perhaps it was cockiness, but he had no doubt that if NCIS had handled the investigation the responsible had been caught and they wouldn't be here in this mess. Well part of the mess would be nonexistent. Deeks would still have pulled this crazy trick on them, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about the safety of the blond man and the woman in his presence. While Deeks had proved he could hold his own he would feel a lot more at ease knowing no mad men was after him.

He noticed Kensi staring at some pictures. If he remembered well it was the one with Deeks and a woman on it, with him kissing the top of her head. The woman had been a mystery to him the first and only time he had seen it, but he now knew her as Sarah. Sam watched the dark haired agent as she stared at it. She hadn't spoken, but he could hazard a guess at her thoughts. It was the second time she stood to lose a partner and he wasn't sure she could cope with that. And that made him even more determined to bring Deeks back. He needed this team as much as the rest and with no Deeks, there would be no Kensi and without them, there would be no team.

They gathered in the kitchen and were about to debate who would do the bedroom when a noise from said room made them turn their heads in unison.  
Guns pulled they slowly made their way over. The tension was palpable when Callen reached for the knob and slowly moved to open the door.  
The disappointment of finding the room empty was nearly heart breaking. For a split second they had, yeah what had they been thinking, Kensi wondered as she looked around the room.  
It was so different from hers, well for starters it was actually clean and tidy. Everything had a place and nothing seemed out of place. Well almost nothing as a white card, the size of a business card clearly sat on the pillow. She slowly moved closer and picked it up. A handwriting message stood out.

'_LAPD vault 45, code 811457'_

As she turned it around, the name stood clearly against the white background. Without having met this particular person, she had come to like her. Sarah McArthurs name stood neatly printed on the card.

'Hey guys, I think we can agree that Sarah's isn't a bad as we originally thought' she said holding up the card.

'Why?' Callen asked.

'Remember bitching about the LAPD not wanting to share and all? Sarah just gave us access to what I presume is Deeks's personal stuff back at the precinct ' and for the first time she actually smiled.

* * *

Sarah was out of breath when she reached the car with the laptop. But he figured excitement had been part of her out of breathiness.

'So I guess your dad telling you all about sneaking around finally paid off?' he asked.

'I wasn't,…. Okay I was but it was for a good cause.' She said while showing the laptop to him.

'I'm know it was, just how….' He started.

'ssst. I can't just begin to tell you how to sneak around now can I? it would break the magic of it all.'

'I knew about the sneaking.' He pointed out.

' yeah, but if I go and tell you all about, it wouldn't be sneaking. It would be me breaking into your home.' Sarah explained.

'I gave you permission to break in.'

'Deeks! I'm not going to tell you okay.'  
She tried to sound angry, that's why she had used his last name but the smile plastered on her face told an entire other story. She just couldn't hide her excitement and for once he was glad to join in. Sarah, his Sarah had managed to beat 3 well trained, well educated special agents. Not that Sarah wasn't one herself, but missing persons was a lot different from a special operations team and yet she had managed to break, no sneak into his house without them knowing she was there.

'What's with the pen?' he asked as she stuffed said item inside her purse.

'Nothing, just needed something to keep my hands busy.' She said.

He knew he had been lied to, he knew her as well as she knew him but remained silent about it. He could hazzard a guess to what Sarah had done, it probably involved a place where they couldn't go right now. He would talk to her about it, spilling his secrets like that, but not now. No now was the time to celebrate the fact that his one and only Sarah had managed to beat 3 well trained agents.

* * *

'Someone care enough to tell me why I can face arms dealers, possible terrorist like it's nothing but I'm freaking out at the idea of entering that building.' Kensi asked as they sat outside the LAPD building.

'Maybe because this is a part of Deeks we don't know.' Sam said.

'Maybe because we're about to embark on a road that will lead us to some of his secrets.' Callen said. They all looked at him. 'What? It's not like we don't have them as well and would you really like it when someone went through your stuff?

'No, it's the word embark, didn't know you had that one in your vocabulary.' Sam said as he took the lead by simply getting out of the car.

To say that they weren't a bit miffed about the actions taken place a little earlier today was the understatement of the year. A freaking Mission persons person had managed to best the 3 of them. Sam had been the one to use logic, her father was an ex marine, so he would have been the source, but still they would, no they should have known something was happening. But no, a sound, a well intended sound he was sure off had alerted them and they had only come up on an empty room.  
Somehow he knew that Sarah entering that room had not been only to leave the card there, she had been in there to gather something. Something on the case both teams seemed to be working on. The problem was they didn't know what Deeks might have kept in there, so they had no idea what Sarah had taken with her. They could only hope that back at the vault they found what they were looking for.

The inside of the LAPD building was light and cool. Somehow she had the feeling that all the sudden all the eyes were on them as they entered. And they were just standing at the entrance desk. She wondered what it would feel like when they actually got deeper inside the building. She let Callen do the honors not trusting her own voice to carry her through this. They were very politely told to wait for Deeks commanding officer. He would be with them very shortly, the woman behind the desk informed them.

Very shortly turned out to be a strange term with the LAPD as they sat there for a good 30 minutes . Callen was just on the verge of calling Hetty when someone finally managed to come through the door. This was clearly not Deeks' commanding officer, but he did tell them to follow them, so that's what they did. Callen wondered what had earned them the cold reception, them being NCIS of them being there because of Deeks. He figured it was little bit of both, but with the scale ticking over to the latter. From the looks of it, and the time on the elevator they weren't brought to Deeks' immediate commanding officer, but to someone higher on the food chain.

'So you want to look at some of Detective Deeks' files'. The guy, by the name of Gary Andrew asked them as they finally were seated before them. They didn't fail to notice the use of the police title, but Callen decided it's better to let it slide, for now.

'Yes, we believe there might be some information about a case.' He replied.

'and the normal ways of requesting information doesn't exist within NCIS.'

'It does exist, but this is something that hasn't been put on record, not yet anyway.' Callen said.

'And why doesn't Deeks come around and collect it himself.' Andrews asked.

'He's a bit busy for the moment.' Sometimes the truth is the best way forward.

'Yeah, by getting shot at.' And sometimes the truth come back to bite you in the ass.

'Listen, at the moment Deeks is working on a op. He claimed that we could find some more intel on the guys we are investigating. That's why we are here.'

'what's Deeks vault number.'

'45' Kensi replied and she felt a little victorious at the stunned cop's face. He clearly had been convinced they had been lying.

'Fine, follow me' he said.

This time there was no elevator but a small stairs. The door gave away to a rather large bullpen inside the building and somehow they knew that they were now facing Deeks' direct colleagues. The comments that followed them around sealed the deal. A quick glance towards Andrew told Callen that the guy wasn't planning on stopping the flow of insults they were receiving. All of them to do with Deeks and not one of them of the pleasant kind. From the corner of his eyes he noticed Sam getting a hold on Kensi. It was a mistake to bring her here, he now knew. She wasn't dealing well with Deeks being gone and now she had to deal with this as well. But just when he thought they had had the worsed one, the final blow still needed to delivered.

'He got that woman shot, you know that.' Andrew said as they finally reached the wall of vaults they had been handing to. The tone used wasn't used to just convey information, it had been a clear attack on the abilities of the young undercover cop.

'Don't know what you see in the guy to be honest. He's only good at getting his partners either killed or shot at.'

Only Sam shaking his head slightly stopped him from pinning the LAPD officer against the wall and beat the crap out of him. They had come here to find information, not making enemies. Well not more than they already had.

'well if we're going to be honest with each other. I can't for the life of me imagine why you would let him go that easily.' Callen said to the cop. 'He's one of the best I ever worked with.'

* * *

**Somehow I had to have Callen say something nice about Deeks.**

**All the mistakes about the Navy and LAPD are mine. I just invented stuff to go along with the story.**

**Hopefull I'll have the next chapter up and ready by the end of the weekend, but I did by the lastest Professor Layton game and I tend to get extremely hooked on them. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey, here's the next chapter.  
A bit short, but I've been ill this week and top that my aunt passed away due to cancer, so last week wasn't the most pleasant one in life and I didn't feel like writing a lot.**

**I hope to bring the next one somewhere this week.**

**Thanks for the reviews and the followers! Keep them coming.**

* * *

**Six**

'_well if we're going to be honest with each other. I can't for the life of me imagine why you would let him go that easily. He's one of the best I ever worked with.'_

His words brought a silence over them, one that only got broken when Andrews turned around and walked away without saying a word.

'That was nice of you to say.' Kensi silently said as some minutes had passed and they had all had the time to gather their thoughts and let what had happened just a bit earlier sink in.

'It's the truth.' was the simple answer.

'But I can't believe he keeps working here? I mean those things they said out there about him? It shocked me and I'm used to a lot.' Kensi said.

'Well, I figure they won't say it out loud when he's around.' Callen replied.

'would there be any truth in it?' she couldn't believe what she was saying, but it had been on her mind and maybe she just needed reassurance from her two big brothers.

'Kens!' Callen said.

'I know, but , well I don't know, it's just he hardly spends time here, hardly talks about it….'

' I like to think it's because we offer a better atmosphere.' Sam suddenly broke into the conversation.

'Yeah, much better, that's why we're all in the bullpen singing Kumbaya.' She sneared.

'Kensi, that's enough.' Callen snapped.

Oh if only things were alright, then Deeks would be here and they could actually sing the bloody song if they wanted to. Somehow he's almost certain the blond cop would actually like that.

'Sorry, Kensi, but this is not the time okay? He's been treated badly by both parties, but at least we can focus on that fact that we were a bit more social. '  
He said as he saw the look on the female agent's face. It nearly broke his heart. The look and the situation they were in. They never gave him a real welcome to the team, and yet he kept coming back to work every day. Sam was right, he probably did it to get away from the precinct and the abuse he got here. Only to receive a similar manner of treating at NCIS headquarters. He was almost certainly sure Hetty didn't know about this one or she would have stepped it earlier.

_Stop blaming Hetty!_ His inner voice told him. '_it was just as simple to give him that welcome.'_ It was right, they made the choice of treating him like this, like he was a nobody who couldn't do a thing. But actually that had been a complete lie. Hetty had handpicked him. She might not have used those exact words, but she had done it. And Hetty wouldn't pick a hopeless guy. Deeks possessed skills, good skills. He knew the scene, him growing up here meant he knew the place like the back of his hand and he had firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of the LAPD. And despite whether they liked him or not, the guy had his way of dealing with the locals. And they might mock him for it, but someone with the legal baggage he had, out in the field? Well truth be told it had been handy.

'Okay, let's do it.' he said as he held his hand out. Kensi wordlessly dropped the card in it. He faced vault 45 and punched in the combination. A few seconds, a few moments of holding his breath, what if Sarah had given them the wrong code? But then the light turned green and the door slowly opened. Different folders lay inside, together with some official looking papers. He swiftly went through it until he found the folder he had been looking for. Closing the door he turned and waved the folder. The others followed him towards the table nearby, but before they could see what was inside, they were interrupted by footsteps coming their way.  
Not much later an older cop came into view.

'NCIS?' he asked.

'Yeah and you are?' Callen asked.

'Daniel Woods.' The cop said. 'I, I did the investigation into Sarah's shooter.'

' Our file said you guys had a suspect?' Sam asked.

'Yes, a dirty cop by the name of Jason Carter. Marty had worked on an undercover operation that brought him down.' Woods said.

'Why him?'

'We hadn't had a clue as to who might have done it. Well not until a freaked out Marty enters the hospital. Finding out that she was Marty's Sarah led us towards him. Sarah not having any enemies, and well certainly not one with sniper training it was the logic reasoning. Jason was the only one who had known about Deeks being the undercover.'

'How did he find out?' Callen asked.

'Jason searched his background. The only problem he had access to the police personnel records. No way we would have been able to keep from Marty to become known to Jason.' Woods said.

'how did Jason find out about Sarah?'

'He didn't by anything Marty did. He kept his personal en work life separated. He did talk a bit about Sarah, but no one ever knew who she was. It had always been in passing that she had been mentioned. Sarah actually was the one who gave us the clue. Jason lived in the same neighborhood as Sarah. She had seen him in the store and on the street. We believe Jason came to watching her every move, probably because he was interested in her. Marty by that time had moved out, but they were best friend so they often spend time at each other's place. That's how Jason put the connection between the two and we presume the plan.' Woods said.

'Anyway, here's the file. Call me if you need anything else' the cop said as he placed the file on the table. After saying goodbye he left.

After that they decided to go back to the mission. To look at everything at peace and perhaps with Eric and Nell close by should more digging seemed necessary. They were a quiet bunch as they made sure the vault had been locked and then made their way back to the car. All 3 going over what the Officer Woods had said and what could possible have gone down all those years ago. They all knew that undercover and everything else connected to it had its dangers. But now they were faced by the consequences. Actually it was the first time they faced the fact that someone who had nothing to do with the operation got hit. The only reason of becoming a target had been a connection to one of them and it made them sick to the core. They might not have know Deeks back then, hell their team hadn't existed back than, the attack had been on a close friend of one of their own. And that made Sarah one of their own as well, no questions asked.

* * *

After celebrating with a beer, they had gone to work. He did the searching on his laptop, Sarah took to find the articles of around that time. To see if they could find something about this one. The name of the cop hadn't been spoken between them, although both knew the name. Somehow it had become a topic neither wanted to talk about it and the other respected that wish. But right now they might have a chance of closing it, finally putting an end to it and that drove them forwards.

'So, the only problem we, and the LAPD have is that they can't place him on the scene. He had an alibi, thanks to friends. Woods was sure it was phony, but never could prove it.' he said.

'So he's still running around.' Sarah said.

'Yeah'

'And he's taking a new shot at us.' She went on.

He hadn't said anything about recognizing one of the guys shooting at them the other night. But then again they didn't have to. Just by telling her what she needed to find on the net, she had known. Hell she wore the scars of that day. She would never forget about it and as long as she lived with it, so would he.

'I might have something.' Sarah said, breaking the silence that once again had fallen between them.

'Okay'

'In this article they make a reference to an old plant. It looks like some traffic over there held suspicion.'

'why?'

'It's an abandoned power plant so it shouldn't warrant any movement around the premise.'

'You think he hid there and might still be there?' Sarah asked.

'Only one way to find out. Any address of area in the article.' He asked. She nodded and gave him the address.

Luckily she put down the tablet at the moment she told him, because that's why she never saw him freeze for a second. But it's better that way, no need for Sarah to know what's being going on in his life and that that place had almost cost him his life.

They had no idea of what they were getting into as they got in the car and started to make their way over. A part of her mind told her to call that lady back and tell her what they knew and that they would indeed love some back up. But she didn't. She knew he wasn't ready for it yet and in the end she was here for him. She could only hope they were making the right decision.

Besides she had given the team a clue and if they were as good as Marty claimed they would be able to put two and two together as well. Perhaps needing to call in for back up wouldn't be needed. Part of her didn't want it to be needed, wanted for it to be empty when they arrived there. She actually hoped that it would be the case because she had no idea how she would react to it all. Somehow the whole 'rescue Marty and get him back inside the team ' plan had turned into finding the guy that had shot her all those years ago. And even when she could tell that this was important to Marty, she wasn't sure he knew what they were going to do when they got there. That was a big part of why she wanted to place to be empty on arriving there. She just had no idea what Marty would do when they found him there. While she prided herself on knowing her best friend so well, this was actually the first time she had seen him like this. It was like he had nothing to lose and it frightened her to the core. But she would be there for him, every step of the way. That was a promise she had made to him. It was never spoken between the two of them, but it stood there right between the two of them. And they both lived by the promise.

Way too soon they arrived at the plant. He had parked a little further up the road, hiding the car as much as possible from prying eyes. They would walk towards the building to see if they could find a way on the premise without being seen.

'You ready?' he asked.

She wasn't, but her head took over from her heart as she nodded and proceeded to follow him.


	8. Chapter 7

******Okay, next chapter!**

**Struggled a bit with this one as I wanted to do it a bit differently at first, but Sarah wanted to have her say as well.  
**

* * *

**Seven **

Back at Quantico she had taken some courses about how to enter a building, a building probably filled with bad guys. Part was because all special agents needed that training, part was because she had actually liked the tension, the action that came along with it. Not that she had learned a lot from it, because her dad had told her how to do it. But it had done wonders on friendship and bonding. Yet it were her dad lessons that came back to her when she followed Deeks through a gap in the iron wired fences that surrounded the plant.

Never having a son and she being the only foster child to stay for so long, he had begun to teach her everything he knew. At the beginning she had never been that interested in it, only going along because she could clearly tell he liked teaching her. But later she had started to look forward to it and mostly to the time spend together. Slowly she had turned into a daddy's girl. She only had a few memories of her real father and mother, and most weren't worth to remember. Dean and Carol had become her real parents, pretty much from the moment they took her in their house. She hadn't made it easy in the beginning, but they had been patient and in the end love had won out. Love that finally resulted in her being adopted for real. They let her have her real last name, but frankly she wouldn't have cared if they had changed it. Her mom had told her that one day she would realize the virtue about it and she had. Her last name was the last connection to her real parents and she didn't want to lose that.

Despite being a daddy's girl and part-time learning to become a marine, Sarah McArthur wouldn't be caught in last year's style. It had cost her hours and hours of work at the pizza place, at the movies…, but she pretty much managed to keep up with the latest fashion and had started on building a shoe collection that could at one point, if it kept building like this, rival Imelda Marcos' collection.  
Yet having tons of shoes, like Marty and Danny liked to call it, didn't mean she managed to always pick out the right ones. Like today. What had made her pick these was beyond her as she was beginning to feel the typical burning feeling at her toes. But she kept quiet about. Marty was a sweet guy, but an endless tease as well. Not that she couldn't handle her own, but she didn't feel like it right now.

Pushed against wall, they slowly but surely got deeper and deeper on to the terrain, yet still no one to be seen. As they reached the corner of the building they had been creeping past, they stopped for a second. In signals only they knew about Marty told her he was going to look around the corner and she had to stay put for the moment. She nodded in understanding and let her eyes travel over the terrain in front of her. No one was to be seen, but it didn't mean anything. They could be hiding, just like they were at the moment and it could all go horrible wrong in a split second. She knew from experience that when mad men were involved, nowhere was really safe.  
Marty had but a split second to retreat from his looking as the first bullet hit the wall where his head had been just before. Soon to be followed by more shots taken at them.

As they turned to retreat on the way they had come, they soon found that blocked by other shooters, leaving them with only one option. Cross the open space between the next building. It was close to a 100 meters, but at this moment it seemed like miles and miles but it was the only way out. For a moment their eyes locked, a small nod and then they left, making a run for it.  
Bullets flying around your head tended to make you run just that faster and Sarah was convinced that if their time was being recorded they came close to Usain Bolt's world record. And on those shoes, she smiled to herself. Only to fade as quickly at the burning feeling returned ten times harder as they finally stood still inside one of the buildings.

Once again they stood with their backs against wall, frozen in time. They were listing to see if the men that had been shooting at them would find them. At this moment they hadn't, but their luck wouldn't last that long, she simply knew, no need for any training. Jason Carter, yes let's not get all Harry Potter on the guy and call him with his real name, was here and keen on getting his hands on them. She wasn't sure was Jason would do with her, but it wouldn't be nice. She knew what she would be used for and she didn't want to give the ex - cop the pleasure.  
It had taken her a lot of time to get Marty to the state he was in now. She had been there every time a nightmare had him screaming through the night, she had been there every time a fit of rage threatened to take him over and turn him into a wild man, she had been there every time depression took out the will to live and he seemed ready to give up on everything. There had been times she had wanted to give up, but love didn't let her, love made her return home and face whatever demon Marty had going on at that moment. And they had managed to get out alive, in one piece and she had loved him like she hadn't loved anyone before. Slowly over the years they had transformed into a brother and sister relationship, but she was proud of what she had done and what they had reached. And she wasn't ready for Jason to ruin all the good work, all the things she had endured.

This was time of action and whether he liked it or not, she had made a decision on the next action. She had been in LA for little then a week, two days in his presence and yet she had been shot at twice. She wasn't a little girl, she didn't cry that easily but she was getting fed up with being shot at and second these shoes really had to come off.  
Not that she would ever admit that had been part of her decision, she would claim it was self-preservation that had made her take out her phone and switch it on.

They had turned them off to avoid being tracked. He was sure the team would have some tracking system running right now, and she had listened to him. But right now she didn't mind if they tracked her phone to this spot. The sooner those shooting bastards were behind bars, the sooner she could breathe a little easier. Perhaps spend a day at the beach and then head back to NY.

'I think we can make a run for it, climbing through this window' he said as he turned towards her. ' the car isn't parked far from here and if we're fast we can get out before they know we're gone.'

Sarah only nodded to his statement and that made him focus on her. It didn't take him that long to notice the phone. Not a word was said as she handed the device to him and he saw the number. Everything was set, he only needed to press the dial button. He didn't want to, but there was no choice. They were outnumbered, with a crazy ready for revenge ex cop on their heels. They needed to find safety and it didn't matter how much he hated this. So that's why he slowly took a deep breath, pressed the button and brought the phone to his ear.

* * *

They had gathered at the Ops room and even Hetty was present. Deeks's file on Jason Carter was spread out before them, surrounded by the information found by Nell and Eric. There had been lengthy discussions about the case, how LAPD had handled it, how Deeks had handled it and what their next course of action would be. Right now they were all surrounded by silence, well as much as Ops would let them be surrounded by silence as they were thinking about the case.

The ringing of Hetty's cell phone pierced through the loaded silence and startled them all. Hetty muttered something as she took her cell phone out and was ready to give the caller a piece of her mind. How dare they disturbed them right now. All intentions of that however were soon forgotten as she spotted the number on the display screen. She turned to Eric and told him to transfer her call to the speaker sitting on the table. It only took a split second and then she pushed the button to answer.

'Miss McArthur, How can I help you.' She said. First they were met by silence, but then a voice came through, not the one she or the rest of the team were expecting.

'It's Deeks'.

He sounded tired, somewhat breathless and she wondered what had just happened to her liaison agent. It seemed like he had been running and if he was calling her, that didn't mean he had been running for fun.

' Mr. Deeks, to what do I have the honor of you calling me?' She asked. While she wanted him back, safe and sound, she wasn't one to be messed with. Mr. Deeks would learn she didn't take kindly to antics like this and that he couldn't pull a stunt like this.

'I, … I, … no, we …. We kinda need some help.' He finally stammered and it wasn't difficult to tell he was nervous. ' you…. You told Sarah to call you when she needed any help.'

'So why it's you and not Miss McArthur on the phone.

'Sarah thought it would be a better idea if I was the one making the call. Something about it being the first step.' He replied.

'Smart woman, that friend of yours'

'Yeah, just don't tell her that. She will be unbearable after that ' he said and they could all hear the smile in his voice.

'And what makes you think I can help you?' she asked, changing the mood. Not only on the other side of the line, but also in the same room. 3 pair of eyes stared at her, shock written all over them. She raised her hand, telling them she was in control. She had no intention to leave Deeks alone, but a little punishment wouldn't hurt.

'ah, listen, I'm very much aware that I'm not on the top of your Christmas card list, if I'm even on it. And I'm pretty sure the team is ready to beat the crap out of me, but for me not to be on that list or getting beaten to crap somehow needs a little requirement.' The smile clearly gone from his voice and they could hear anger in it.

'And that requirement is?' she asked.

'me being alive'

The statement silenced the room and her intention to punish the young cop a little. He was right, they needed him to be alive if they wanted him back on the team, even if they intended to have some words with him. Talking to a corpse may gave you the time to finish your sentence and actually makes you say everything you wanted to say, it was kinda depressing for the silence that returned.  
Callen moved forward and she didn't stop him. This was an opportunity they had been waiting for, a way to show him that they cared and that they had his back.

'Deeks, it's Callen. Tell me what's been happening.4

After Deeks had finished his story, Hetty came once again forward and leaned towards the speaker.

'Mr. Deeks, I think it's time for you to come in.' she said.

'Boatshed?' he asked.

'No, The mission seems a more suitable place.' She said. 'oh and bring your smart friend with you'.

* * *

**So, the team will finally meet Sarah. Even more special, a meeting between the two Ferns. :)  
****Any ideas on that one? I have some, but wouldn't mind some more :)**

**Let me know what you think. **


	9. Chapter 8

**There has been pointed out that the last chapter was a bit confusing about where Marty and Sarah were.  
So here's the answer :)**

**Just let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Eight**

Silence greeted them from the other side of the phone. They were beginning to worry that Deeks had somehow died of shock. They never, well almost never brought strangers inside the mission. For Hetty to invite Sarah inside their sanctuary was something special. Even Deeks didn't get to see the inside until he had become the liaison agent and Hetty had his signature on the piece of paper. Sarah clearly meant a great deal to Hetty, or better Deeks meant a great deal to Hetty and therefore Sarah became special as well.

'Mr. Deeks, are you still with us?' Hetty asked. Silence got replaced by background noise and they could vaguely hear voices.

' Yeah,' came softly, 'but I'm…' Now they could clearly hear a voice in the background, a female voice and Hetty recognized Sarah's voice.

'Mr. Deeks, are you alright?' she asked.

'I…., I got to go' he said and the connection was broken, but not before they could clearly hear a new sound in the background, that of a bullet being shot and impacted into a wall.

* * *

He was getting really tired of having to duck away from bullets. They were still inside the building but the one thing different was Jason's men finding their hiding space. He grabbed whatever he could find that was heavy enough and threw it through the window he had seen and talked about earlier. His plan had to see and find out if it could be opened the way man intended, but they didn't have the time for the moment. He grabbed another rock to clear out the rest of the glass, but reconsidered and handed it to Sarah. They had both brought their guns, but him being LAPD meant he could shoot without having to face problems. Sarah wasn't on duty here and while self defense was a way out, they would question her presence there. Sarah quickly understood what was needed from her and set to work.

The one bullet that had entered the room seemed to be a misfire or a lucky shot as the others came nowhere near the room they were in. They both know it was only a matter of time before the men made it to the room and had a better view of their targets, them. Deeks didn't feel like ending up as a practice target and when Sarah tapped him on the back, signaling she was ready, it only took him half a minute to hoist himself up and through the window. Quickly scanning the surrounding, he noticed that they were unspotted for the moment. He turned towards the window and was just in time to grab Sarah's shoulders and hoist her out as well. Normally that would have led to Sarah turning all Kensi on him, explaining she could do it herself, but the men behind them didn't allow her the time. Added to that he could always bring up her shoulder. Oh she was hiding it well, but he knew her better and he could see it was still troubling her.

Bullets flying through the broken window had them ducking for cover once again and then making a beeline for it. He liked running, hey he even went out for a jog pretty much every day but running when people shot at you was something else. Normally he was the one doing the shooting and he suddenly had a flash of sympathy for the suspects.

Suddenly his head collided with a wall and he was about to scream, but Sarah's hand moved over his mouth and stilled whatever swear words he uttered. With her other hand she place her finger over her lips and he understood the intention. Sarah had pulled them into a deep, dark opening in the wall. All though he was seeing stars, he silently thanked her when she pulled away her hand. They could hear others coming running and he pushed her behind him, his gun ready. This could only work when their trackers hadn't seen the sudden change in direction and didn't see the opening in the wall like Sarah had done.

Holding their breaths they waited and then could see who had been running after them. 3 thugs, no other way to describe them passed by in a hurry. Yet they remained where they were. Judging from the noise or the lack of it, the 3 had stopped running and they had to be around. One even came back in to view as he came walking back. Now he and Sarah actually froze and he shot a quick prayer up to heaven. If the guy spotted the opening they were in trouble, serious trouble.  
Suddenly a piercing sound crashed through the area, some sort of fire alarm sounded making the 3 thugs turn and run back from the direction they had come.

Sarah's cell phone beeping to alert of an incoming message scared the hell out of them. He actually jumped a little hearing the sound, nothing to be embarrassed about because he had felt the reaction in his back, coming from Sarah as well. Quickly he brought the cell phone up and pressed the message button.

'clear, get out of there!' the message read and they both smiled.

The alarm hadn't been an accident, it had been a well placed diversion set up by the team and a way for them to get out. Following the instruction they got out of the opening and ran towards the fence and the car waiting for them. But right before he ducked through the fence he turned towards a camera and smiled a little. He knew they would be still watching and it was a way of showing they were safely on their way back to the mission.

Reaching the car, they sat there for a couple of minutes, gathering their breath. Nothing was being said between them, but like before it wasn't needed. When he felt like he could control himself again he turned the key into the ignition starting the car. Before driving away he placed his hand on Sarah thigh bring her back from her gazing out of the window.

'You okay?' he asked.

'Yeah' she replied softly.

'what?' she asked as he kept staring.

'You're lying' he said.

'Really?' she challenged him.

'Yeah, because I know for a fact that those shoes are killing you.'

The smack on his shoulder told him he had hit the jackpot and it was with a little smile playing around his lips that he got the car to move.

* * *

Eric had started to track the signal the minute Hetty had asked him to transfer call to the speaker. There for it didn't take him that long to find the spot and start hunting for camera's around.

The team fell silent when they noticed the place they were staring at was the same place Lazik had nearly killed Deeks. Eric pulled up all the camera's he could and they all took to watching the different feeds. It was Sam who had seen them climbing out of a window. Form there it was easy to follow them and they could see how they had been hiding inside the opening in the wall.

It had been a logic thing to do, outnumbered as they were. Okay only 3 men seemed to follow them, but they had no idea how many others were still inside the building. When the 3 stopped around the area where the opening was, they all held their breath and Callen knew they had to do something. Deeks and Sarah were on the verge of being discovered. He had asked Eric if he could see if the alarm system at that place was still in working order. The technician had looked a little wounded when he told the team it was no problem at all and that in fact the system still worked. Callen only nodded and Eric knew what he had to do and had switched the alarm on. They all scanned the area on the images coming through and when they had been sure the bad guys were away Hetty texted the message.

Seeing the two of them running towards the fence and then Deeks smiling towards the camera had relieved the tension in the room and everyone seemed to breathe a little easier. Kensi looked around and she knew that the relief on her team members faces could be seen on her face as well. Now the only thing that they needed to do was wait for Deeks to arrive at the mission.

But that brought something else with it. Hetty had invited Sarah as well and that somehow scared Kensi. She had faced a lot in her life but suddenly found herself scared to meet Sarah. Deeks had been anything but forthcoming about his past, his childhood. She knew it hadn't been a happy place, but that was about it. Deeks never talked about it and she never pressed for it. But know she stood to meet someone from said past, someone who probably knew everything there was to know about her partner. Not that she would ever say it out loud, but she was jealous. She was Deeks partner, she worked with him every day, she trusted him to have her back and he trusted her to have his, and yet she hardly knew anything about him. Sarah, who had barely been in his life for the last years, at least that was what she told herself, knew everything. Somehow she felt strange about it, like she was preparing for a fight and in that fight her lack of knowledge had put her on a disadvantage.

* * *

Deeks had parked the car a little away from the mission. It was one thing that Hetty had invited Sarah in, it was another thing riding up to the place. Beside in case they had been tailed, they might be able to shake them off. He knew some back alleys they could take. Sarah didn't say a word when he parked and got out. She just followed him. When he had told her where he was taken her, she had understood the significance of it and she had refrained from asking questions about. She would see whatever got thrown at her, knowing he would never lead her into her doom, well at least not willingly.

They hadn't said much as they walked towards the mission and while she hadn't asked any questions, it didn't mean she didn't have them tumbling through her mind. Questions that only seemed to multiply when she got closer and closer to her destination. She was glad for the questions because it took her mind of other things. She was about to meet Marty's team mates and she wasn't sure how she was feeling about that. She was a confident woman, her (foster)partners raising her a competent and confident woman but this somewhat scared her. She knew Marty would be by her side and that gave her comfort, but still.

She was about to meet some of the most important people in her friends life. He never said it with so many words, but she had heard enough through his stories about them. And perhaps meeting one particular person intimitated her the most. Kensi Blye had taken her place, at least in the love part of his heart. She wasn't stupid, she had seen his face light up when he spoke about her and whenever they called she could hear the light in his voice. She knew him enough to know he hadn't acted on it, but that didn't matter with Marty.

Jealousy was what came to mind at first, but she knew it wasn't that. She had met enough of her 'replacements' through the years but they never seemed serious in her eyes and over time her gut feeling had always been right. But with Kensi it was different, just by listing to his stories about her, Sarah had noticed the seriousness of it all.

She had always hoped he would meet someone, someone who would be able to take her place and make him happy again. The bond they had, even while living on other ends of the country would never be broken, but she knew she would feel more at ease knowing there was someone close by to help. But it was one thing to think along those lines, it was quite another to meet the woman who was in pole position to take that place.

Sarah looked up at the rundown building before her. She couldn't quite believe her eyes. One of the most top secret offices actually housed inside a condemned building. She looked around and could, despite the old age see the beauty of the building. Despite it being a shock to see this as the office, she wouldn't mind coming to work here, it's appearance was a lot better than the brick and glass building she called office back in New York.

It seemed like it was an old building, she knew she would step inside a different world once they got inside. But whenever that was, she didn't know. Marty seemed rooted to the spot as soon as they entered the courtyard facing the front door. He looked up at the building and she could see the hesitation on his face. She took the few steps that separated to two of them and got in his face.

'out there is only Jason and his fire ready crew.' She said earning his attention. 'let's go inside and settle this once and for all.'

She took his hand as he nodded and then they both walked towards the door and inside the mission.

Callen was the first to see the two people enter the building and by what he saw his breath was taken away. It was the resemblance between the two women that stood out. Ray hadn't lied, they actually could be sisters. Yet there were some difference between them. Sarah clearly embraced her feminine side, at least more than Kensi did. In their line of work that wasn't easy, but sometimes he wished that Kensi took a little more effort to bring out that part of her.

He soon felt Sam's presence next to him on the balcony overlooking the bullpen.

'Damn, Shaggy certainly knows how to pick them.' Sam said.

Callen simply nodded in return but refrained from commenting. Deeks had spotted them standing and was now looking at them. They slowly made their way down, from the side Hetty appeared and together with Eric and Nell, Kensi appeared on the balcony as well. Tension rose when they slowly started down and reached a high when they were all standing together next to the bullpen.  
Silence seemed to linger for a while, until Deeks broke the silence.

'Guy, this is Sarah.'

'Sarah, meet the rest of the guys.'

* * *

**Okay, this chapter was all about meeting the team but that changed.  
Anyway, took it as an oppertunity to have the worries of both women surface a little. Sarah not being as confident as she would like :)**

**Anyway, let me know what you think and as said before suggestions are always welcome :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey,**

**Next chapter is up :)**

**I'm have been rewriting this one for as close to a week now and finally have given up on it. Some parts are perhaps a bit confussing but will be explained later on.  
Just to be on the clear side: the romance between Deeks and Sarah is over. They had their fill years ago, it's just to set up what Sarah means to Deeks and could possibly mean to the team as well. **

**Any way happy holidays and I hope that these days can be spend close to the people you love and care about!**

* * *

**Nine**

Even as a FBI agent she had been presented with warmer welcomes then this. And if this somewhat resembled the welcome they had giving Marty, she could begin to understand the trouble they were in. She could tell all the eyes were on her and it didn't seem like the stares would stop anytime soon. She figured that if there was ever an award for the most silent of meetings, this would be a serious contender. But if gave her the time to do a bit of looking for herself and silently she went about all the people standing before her. Marty's description of his team had been accurate and she had no difficulties to put the right name to the right person.

'So, Miss McArthur, welcome to our humble surroundings.' The silence finally got broken by the boss as Hetty stepped a little forward and took the word.

'Thank you, it's nice to see where Marty works'. She replied. They all looked at her a little strangely and she guessed neither of them called him by his first name.

'I suggest you all get to know each other and then for Mr Deeks to show you around.' Hetty said. She nodded to that, not much to say about that and perhaps it would help to lift to lift the still hostile atmosphere around them.

'But I do have to make one comment.' Judging by the reaction of the others, that could not be any good news.

'Really?' She could smack herself, sometimes her brain malfunctioned and allowed to let her mouth do all the talking before thinking. This was one of those moments.

'I do, and it's about the shoes.' Hetty went on as if she hadn't heard the comment.

'My shoes?' Sarah couldn't help but blink at that. What could possibly be wrong with her shoes? A lot if her feet could actually speak instead of hurting like hell, but hey they couldn't so they remained quiet.

'how do you run on them?'

'I don't.' was the short and very quick reply but she hadn't to think about that one. These shoes weren't made for running.

'So when a suspect runs, you'll let him escape?'

'No, I let the boys do the running. They seem to get a kick out of it and who am I to deny them that?' She said. 'Besides if the need arises for me to run on them, I'll. While I can't say it's a pleasant experience it's not something a long and very hot bath can't cure.'

She could hear Marty laughing next to her and soon she was smiling herself.

'good answer' Hetty replied and then turned around leaving them alone.

Marty was the first to move, pulling her along to the four desks. He pushed her slightly on his desk and she silently understood. She managed to hide the sight when she finally sat on the desk and her body weight was lifted of her sour feet. He knew her oh so well.

The others followed. It seemed that by the way their boss had talked to her had lifted the hostile feeling towards her, or at least part of it and soon she was bombarded with questions. Like how they met? In a classroom. Who pulled the first move, she did, asking if the seat next to him was taken. But she was sure that wasn't the move they were after, that had been him actually after a long day spending working on a fictional case and one piece of the best homemade lasagna ever.

They asked about her work, life in New York (Sam was really interested and she suspected she had been right about the accent) but most of the questions were about her and Deeks as they called him. She answered them all and almost all truthfully. Some was just too embarrassing to answer truthfully although she was sure that was what they were after.

The questioning remained in full force until Hetty returned and asked the presence of the rest up in Ops.  
That left Marty and her and they sat there in silence.  
'How about that tour?' He asked as he got up from his seat.  
'Sure why not' and they left for the grand tour of the premises.

* * *

A while later they returned to what apparently was called the bullpen and found the others sitting there again. Sarah took back her place on top of Deeks desk. Nothing was said about what had happened back up at Ops, she expected that had everything to do with her and simply accepted that.

'So you and Deeks?' Sam's voice broke the silence that once again had fallen over them.

'Yeah, what about that?' she asked.

'Don't know, it just seems odd.' Sam said. Oh he was trying to get somewhere, she was sure of it. The question was what.

'Really?' Sarah asked, a smile playing around her lips. 'There has to be a reason for you to ask it.'

'Like I said, don't know.' Sam repeated.

'Navy Seal right' Sarah asked, she could play this game as well.

'At your service' Sam said and actually sat up a little straighter.

'I dated a Navy Seal once.' Sarah said.'

'Really?' he asked, now more intent on their conversation.

'Really.' She smiled back. 'Oh, what was his name again?

'Sleazy Slatan' Deeks said.

'Oh yea, Nathan something' Sarah said to Sam as if Marty's answer was one of the most normal things in the world.

'So, what was he like?' Sam asked.

'Slippery' That put a smile on everyone's face, even Sam.

'No, really, what was he like? I mean you clearly experienced both worlds, so do enlighten me. ' Sam said.

'Don't know.' Sarah said pretending to think.

'Come on, a fine Navy Seal or Shaggy over there.' Sam asked.

But before she could answer him, Hetty appeared at the desk and requested for Sarah to follow her. Sarah got off the desk and started to follow Hetty. But not before stopping at Sam's desk and looking him directly in his eyes.

'I voluntarily lived with him for 5 years. ' she said pointing at Deeks. 'So what can I say, Shaggy all the way.'

She had always known that she would have to contact her boss at some point in time, if only just to let him know she was okay. But she had never figured it would mean she had to actually face him and right now Jack Malone was not a happy camper and he was clearly taking it out on her. She tried to tell herself that it was because her boss actually cared about her. She knew he did, but facing the wrath of Jack Malone, the wrath of one angry Jack Malone did nothing to reinforce that feeling. But in the end she had convinced him that she had to stay, that they had the chance to finally catch the guy who had shot her. He had relented and even granted her access again to the FBI system. Apparently the FBI had a file on Jason Carter and the NCIS team would love to look into it.

After awhile her password worked again and they could access the file. What for she had no idea and they weren't planning on telling her any time soon. Not that she actually cared at that point as she was too busy wondering about the reason why the FBI would have this file and not tell her.

Her train of thoughts were cut short when Hetty crept up on them and ordered them home. It was still fairly early in the evening, but still they could use some down time. She had set them up in a safe house, just in case Jason would come looking for them.

* * *

For the first time in her life Kensi found herself faced with an full on jealousy attack. Oh there had been times where others had bested her in something, but that had always been a motivation to train harder, to get better until she was the best of the rest. She prided herself on her abilities and her motivation to become the best and then stay it. But right now she found herself facing a situation where there seemed nothing she could do. There was no training, no rigorous routine that made you better, made you harder and in the end the best of the class.

She had always known Deeks had a thing for brunettes, Ray had told her that much but judging by his dating pattern she could have figured it out herself. And it had dawned on her that he might be looking for a replacement and perhaps get some sort of reaction from her. But whatever she had felt when realizing that had been crashed into nothing. Oh Ray had told her and looking at Sarah's file had been a dead giveaway but actually meeting that woman was something else. While she might somewhat pride herself on the fact that her partner had been looking for a replacement, she now was faced with the fact that she was one herself. It was like looking in a mirror with their hair and body type the same. But at that moment that was were the resemblance ended as Sarah was definitely another type as her.

For starters Sarah dress sense was completely different and if asked how you would think a female federal agent would look like, Sarah's image came to mind. The suit, the nicely done hair, makeup and nails, the high heeled shoes. She probably owned a couple of the long typical jackets as well. Sarah was every bit the beautiful woman and she didn't seem to mind showing it.

Kensi on the other hand had grown up among the boys and it showed. Not that she didn't mind dressing up and she certainly didn't mind the attention she received when dressed up like that. But she was never as comfortable in her skin dressed like that. And then the shoes. Oh she had noticed them at first glance and she wondered how Sarah kept herself upright. She probably had a lot of practice. Sarah had told Hetty that she didn't run on them, hell she even admitted she left the running to the boys. For Kensi it was something unthinkable, she had trained too hard to be here and she would never ever let one of the boys do something she could do herself. Sarah seemed to have a different feeling about it and she clearly didn't mind to play the woman in need. Probably the reason why Deeks had been attracted to her, he had this need to play the knight in shining armor.  
Not that Sarah couldn't defend herself, they had seen her running on those heels only just today and it had been marvelous to see her turn the joke Sam had been trying to play on her.

She had hardly spoken to Sarah and even on the ride towards the house she had been quiet. She wasn't sure what she would say when she opened her mouth and instead of hurting people she had decided to remain silent. Because she had seen Deeks, or Marty like Sarah called him act around her. He seemed so much more at ease, had resembled the old Deeks. The one they had lost by acting the way they had. She wanted him back at her side as her partner and she knew that saying something bad about Sarah wouldn't be the way to go. Still they needed to have a talk about pretty much everything but Kensi never was good with talking and expressing her feelings. Especially right now as she had no idea what they really were. Everything had been thrown into a loop the moment Deeks had left her and Sarah coming into the mix hadn't helped her at all.

At the house Sarah had volunteered to cook and Deeks being the gentleman had offered to help. The rest of the team had gathered in the sitting area and were silently discussing everything that had happened. They had been thinking about a plan to get Jason and finally arresting him, but they would need the cooperation of the other two and they weren't sure how to gain that. In the end they finally agreed to leave the actual asking to Hetty and left it at that.

Callen had this crazy idea it was not one of their best idea's ever. One of the reason they were in this situation was that they never asked Deeks something. It usually was an order of some kind and they all knew he would never refuse anything if Hetty was the one doing the asking. It was clear that Deeks had been sensitive to something like this and yet they were going back to their normal way of acting around him. Or almost to their normal acting.

Sitting there, listing to the banter coming from the kitchen he couldn't help but smile a little. Everyone needed someone in their life, someone who would have your back whatever happened and would never back down. Deeks clearly had that with Sarah and it clearly shook this team to the core. He and with that he also meant Kensi and Sam had always relied on the team, on each other to pull them through. They never ventured out and if they did it was never under the cover of truth. Perhaps Sam had been a different case as he actually had a wife and children waiting for him at home. But Kensi and him were alone in the world and therefore also went home alone. They didn't have someone to fall back on like this. Somehow they had all expected Deeks to be the same, to behave the same. But he hadn't. He had actually made the conscious move to walk out on them. But the most important thing of all, Deeks had a backup system in place, an all knowing backup system and Callen began to feel a little jealous. Being alone was good for their line of work, it meant someone less to worry about, but witness to the contact, the understanding between Deeks and Sarah made him realize that having someone to talk to outside the team wasn't bad either. And perhaps it was time to settle down, it wasn't like he was getting any younger.

Diner had been spent in easy banter. They all told stories, even Sarah had a few that were worth to mention. It was hard to image her as a special agent and yet she was one, just like he was. Only where he was an undercover agent, Sarah worked missing persons. And the more he heard about her, the more Sam got convinced she was actually pretty good at what she did. She wasn't stupid and clearly picked up a lot of non verbal actions. The way she had turned the joke on him back in the bullpen had been a small demonstration of her skills. If something were to happen to his kids and left them missing, he would have loved someone like Sarah on the case. Perhaps understanding the need to have someone to come home to, Sam had noticed he had been the first one to warm up to Sarah and he made it a vow to turn the other two as well. Sarah was one of the most important persons in Deeks' life and if they wanted to keep him on the team, treating Sarah with respect was key.

'Sarah, come here.' Deeks called from the couch. After diner they had retreated there and Sarah had gone upstairs to shower and change. She had just appeared through the door in a pair of black sweatpants and a oversized and fades FBI shirt. Kensi figured it belonged to the Hispanic man that had appeared on the screen in Ops.  
'What' Sarah asked as she sat down next to him.  
'Hot baths can be helpful when you have been running on those weapons you call shoes, but I happen to know that a rub does wonders as well.' He replied and pulled her legs on the couch and placed her feet on his lap

It was too much for Kensi and she made a beeline for the kitchen. They were planning on a movie night and she left under the pretense of getting the snacks. Although she knew they were just friends, Sarah clearly being in another relationship judging by who had appeared on the screen, it still rubbed her the wrong way. Truth to be told, she wanted to be in Sarah's place and have her feet rubbed. Oh she hated herself right now and wondered if she ever would figure out her feelings towards Deeks. He could certainly rub her the wrong way, but the last two days had proven that she couldn't work without him either. He had gotten under her skin and she would give a lot to get him back.

After the movie Deeks slowly got up. Sarah had fallen asleep on the couch and in a slow voice he announced he was gonna put her in bed. Kensi actually felt the pang in her heart when she saw how gently he picked Sarah up and carried her upstairs and to bed. She wondered if he would handle her the same if she ever let him. Like stated before, she didn't need any protection. She was perfectly capable to handle her own problems and defend herself. But witnessing this made her think about it. It wouldn't hurt to have someone handle her with care the way Deeks had and perhaps deep down that was what she needed.

3 pair of eyes were staring at him as he came back down.

'So you and Sarah.' Sam said.

'Yeah?'

'You're close' came as reply.

'Yeah, she's like a sister to me. ' Deeks said as he sat down.

' A sister you lived with for 5 years. ' Callen asked.

Of course they would pick that up.

'Yeah, she offered and I needed a place to stay.' He had intended to stop right there, but the look on their faces made him continue.

'My mom had gotten sick around my 16th birthday. Spend her time in and out of hospitals. When she died, I had to sell the house to pay for the hospital bills and funeral. I crashed at Ray's place, but that became difficult over time. And then I met Sarah. She owned the house she was staying in and she asked me if I knew someone that needed a place. She had been planning to rent out some of the rooms as the house was too big for her. that's how I ended up at the place.'

'How did she end up owning a house at 18?' Callen asked.

'She inherited it from her parents. Her biological parents that is. Sarah's a foster child, her parents were killed in a car accident when she was six years old. ' he explained, only Sarah had a much better experience at foster care then Callen had. There had only been one foster home she had been send to and in the end she had been adopted by them. Yeah Sarah's start in life hadn't been nice, but it had turned out rather nicely for her.

'You two are obviously close.' Kensi said, joining the conversation. He could clearly hear an certain undertone in it, but he decided to ignore it for now.

'Yeah, we are, she keeps me sane.'

'Sometime I wonder why we do this at all. It's not like we get the credit we deserve. Pretty much every day we risk our own lives and beside the team no one knows. We take on dangerous people and for what? So we can keep the world safe? A world that doesn't even know we exist because every time we do venture out and not be on a mission we do it undercover as well. We tell lies and we make people believe things that aren't true and sometimes I just can't help but thinking what the hell we're doing it for. '

'And that Sarah comes to mind, because she actually does the good things. Yes we arrest terrorist, keep drugs of the street, we recover stolen weaponry and pretty much try to stop derailed mad people. But Sarah? She returns loved ones to their families. If there is ever something that is close to being a real hero, that is it. It's what Sarah and the rest of the crew do. They offer up their time to find people and then bring them back to their families, their loved ones. And when they are too late or only find a body, they won't stop just there. They dig and dig until they figure out what hashappened and then bring the families some closure. Because of that I remember why I do what I do, why I lie so many times, even to her. I do it because it means she can do what she's good at, what they are good at and that's to bring hope to people. '

'Deeks, it's just for the best.' She managed to utter and instantly knew it was the wrong thing to say.

' I lied to my best friend, the only one who actually stayed around and it's for the best?

'Deeks, … ' but as she tried to get some words in, he cuts her off clearly getting angrier.

'Don't! okay just don't. I know what it is you're gonna say. It's for the best , it means she's safe. Well let me tell you one thing Kensi, we've been there. I got Sarah shot because of what I do so stop the bullshit about it being for the best. Sarah, apart from Ray has been the only one who never doubted me, they never stopped encouraging me to do something even when it meant I was gonna go to the academy. She's stuck with me every step of the way, even now when we are living on different sides of the country, even after it became clear why she had been targeted she never turned her back on me.

And then there is you, and by extension the team. Never in my life have I been more proud to be selected for the job and yet I had to keep my mouth shut to the one person that means the world to me. And what do I get in return? 3 members of my team who just think they invented fire and hot water at the same time. I'm not a kid any more, and while it's pretty obvious I never followed all of your dumb training courses, I do believe I have the right to say I did nicely before you all trotted into my life. It's not that I don't want to disrespect your experiences and all, it wouldn't hurt for once to stop the one upping game and actually respect me for who I am and what I have done. And not to look at me like I need help breathing and walking around.'

'besides,' and now his face turned from angry to sad, perhaps disappointed by something. 'all you had to do was ask.'

'Ask what?' She managed to utter not liking at all where this was going.

'for me to leave. All you had to do was say the words and I would be out of your hair in record time.'

And with that he turned on his heels and left the room.

She wanted to go after him, run him down and tell him exactly what she felt, but she couldn't. It meant she had to deal with her emotions and that wasn't her strong point. Actually it was the one thing this team couldn't do. Deeks had no problem with it, he was an open book on that subject and perhaps therefore an easy target. But right now he had pointed out what stood between them and she had no idea what to do about it. And she hated herself for that, because it meant they would lose a valuable member of the team and over something stupid. They never ever, not her, not Callen, not Sam had found the guts to tell him how good he actually was and how they had come to rely on him being there. There had always been reasons not to and now that had come back at them, with a vengeance.

* * *

**The shoe thing is a personal thing :) I usually have the habit of picking out weapons (to my own feet) as shoes to go to work and usually pretty pleased when I get home and pull them off.**

**Let me know what you think! All critisms, opinions and suggestions are welcome!**


	11. Chapter 11

**First: a very happy new year! May 2013 bring you what you hoped for!**

** Second, the story. While Deeks' little rant in the previous chapter was all from the heart, it left me with a problem. I had to get them back together and talking before I could proceed to the next one and finally the conclusion.  
Anyway, this is the result and let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Ten**

They had been in difficult situations, moments where the way you breathed could actually make a difference between life and dead. But they had always managed to get out of them, by themselves of by the help of others, it didn't matter, they survived and lived to fight another day. But the situation they found themselves in right now could be their swansong, well as a team that was. Deeks had stepped over a line, not one that was forbidden but still one they kept well clear off.  
He had told them what he felt, how he saw the team dynamic and how he fitting into it, well how he didn't fit into it to be exact. It had stunned them all into a silence, one that entered their bodies as well and kept them from moving. It was like in a dream, like they stood above and could only watch what was happening .

Upstairs noise could be heard and doors being closed. He hadn't left the house, so that was something. But soon Sam realized that it wasn't because of them. Sarah was still inside the house, sleeping and there was no way Deeks would leave her behind. They waited for a while but couldn't hear anything. If Deeks had gone upstairs to wake Sarah and take her away from them, they would have appeared downstairs by now. The house only held one staircase and there was no way he could have sneaked past them. But it didn't do wonders for them as a team. He was still upstairs and they were still sitting downstairs trying to figure out what just happened and how the hell they were going to fix it.

It seemed easy to pinpoint all of this to Sarah, but Sam knew they would be lying if they did. The problems seemed to have multiplied by Sarah's appearance into their life, but all she had done was to speed up the process. She was here because of them and it right now it was too big of a thing to ignore. Deep down they all should have known, and probably did know that Deeks was feeling ill at ease whenever he was around the team. But they had chosen to ignore it, to push it away and refuse to deal with it. Why? Because Deeks had been an easy target, someone to make fun with and more often to make fun of. It had all meant nothing, and he was pretty sure Deeks knew it too, but that wasn't an excuse. They never made him feel welcome and they certainly didn't acknowledge his abilities. While he wasn't a special agent and therefore never learnt to play by their rules, Deeks had done more than alright for himself. He had spent years alone working for the LAPD and undercover and always managed to come home in one piece. They should have acknowledged that, but now it was too late.

'Well, it seems like I can't leave you all alone for a second, let alone a couple of hours.'

Hetty's voice broke the silence and they all looked to her. They never really saw the difference in height. Her demeanor was more than enough to make you forget you towered over her. Even today they didn't, all they could do was look away in shame. They had failed the team and more precise they had failed their boss. Hetty had handpicked Deeks and had clearly seen more in him then they had and Callen didn't know what to say to that.  
For the couple of seconds that he had looked at her, he could see sympathy and anger on her face. Not a normal feature and it reminded him how bad this situation actually was.

'Although I do have to say that was a nice little rant he had going there.' She continued.

'Hetty, he has…. ' Callen started.

'Yes he has insulted this program, the training done for it, but does that automatically mean he's not telling the truth?' She asked.

They retreated back to the silence, to let their minds drift and find an answer to Hetty's question and to the ones Deeks had thrown at their feet. No one wanted him gone, but it seemed like he had made his mind up and they were just staying behind to pick up the pieces.

'They are not dumb courses' Kensi said, pretty much to no one in particular.

'of course they are not.' Hetty replied and they could all hear the 'my dear' part even though it hadn't been said.

' Who does he think he is? I topped every single one of them! He's got nothing on me.' She was a on a roll now and would have continued if Callen hadn't suddenly snapped and called her name rather harshly.

''Kens, stop it! Like Hetty said, they are not dumb courses and therefore have their meaning, but Deeks went to another course, one that made him a far better undercover then the three of us.' He said. Kensi stared at him, he knew if it was humanly possible, he would have two holes burnt into his chest.

' Really?' She said, more dared. She was daring him to keep on going and that was what he had been planning. It was time to face the truth, no matter how hard it would hurt.

' The streets of LA were Deeks' playground and school. I'm pretty sure they have taught him everything he needed to know as a cop and later as an undercover cop. '

He had seen Deeks track record and had been glad he had been sitting down when he had done so. Deeks seemed to be the go to guy for the long and deep undercover work and always managed to survive. He had said that he didn't want to disrespect their experiences but they had done that to him. Deeks knew what it was like to be someone else for long periods of time. And LAPD not working at NCIS meant he had been on his own for most of the time. Callen knew how hard it could be on someone to be someone else and never having the pleasure of knowing you would be saved when needed.

Kensi had only known the world of NCIS for undercover work and while she had been a good agent up till now and promised to get even better, she lacked the experience Deeks had. And yet Deeks never called her out on it, always letting her take the lead and let her do her stuff. Callen suddenly knew why he had become more at ease with letting Kensi out of his sights. He knew that if the going got though and the two youngsters found themselves in a tight spot, Deeks would know what to do. Only now they had to convince him to keep doing that.

'Yeah, sure, the Lazik case certainly showed what he had learned.'

' That went sour because he had been betrayed by one of his own. You can't hold that against him' Sam suddenly got mixed up in the conversation shutting Kensi up once again.  
His tone dared to her to challenge him and face the consequence. Kensi understood and decided to keep quiet. She had no idea where the words were coming from, why she had been trying to disrespect Deeks' actions and past. Well the recent past, he kept a very tight lid on the years before he joined LAPD.

'And who's this Sarah anyway?'  
Okay she had no idea where that came from and wherever it came from she had no intention to say it out. But she did and it got her the attention of the three others in the room.

'I don't think you not knowing about Sarah McArthur and the rest of the team she belongs to holds any value to the conversation.'

This time Hetty meant business and her tone had been harsh. Without saying it out loud she had put Kensi in her place, letting her know straight on that as important she found herself, she meant nothing in the big scheme of things. Which let Callen to believe that Hetty knew a lot more then she let on. Of course she had always known more, she was Hetty.

His attention shifted to the other female in the room and wondered why she was acting up like this. This wasn't the normal Kensi. Okay she didn't dislike a bit of one upping and Deeks had been her favorite target, but this was her being down right mean. Suddenly the reason why dawned up on him.

Despite her constant need to better her partner, Kensi had come to rely on him for being there. She considered him hers as much as she could and never seemed to believe that there would be someone else that was as close to Deeks as she was. Sarah turning up had proved how wrong she had been. For starters Deeks' wasn't hers to begin with and second she wasn't as close to him as she had liked to believe. The evidence that Sarah knew him inside out had been there for the taking and he guessed she knew everything. Everything he never said a word about, the past the detective hid behind the defensive wall around him. Sarah knew what was inside that wall. And Callen realized that Kensi's unusually behavior had been coming from the green eyed monster that was raging inside of her. Kensi was jealous of Sarah, of what the other woman meant to her partner. And by the looks of it they had blown the chance of ever getting to know the man like the FBI agent has.

While she might have been struggling with her own emotions, Kensi hadn't lost her hearing abilities and after the slap on the wrist by Hetty she remained quiet. She was jealous, no need to beat around the bush. The problem was she had no idea what to do about it. Getting rid of Sarah flashed briefly through her mind but that was a no go. Sarah gone meant that Deeks would follow soon after and she didn't want that.

They could use Sarah, she was pretty sure if they asked the other brown haired woman she would do it for them. But it would be for all the wrong reasons. Deeks would stay because of Sarah and not because of them, not because of her. And that scared her to the bone. She had never been willingly left behind by someone. Even Jack, she knew did what he believed he had to do. Deeks hadn't. He had made the decision to walk out on them because of them. Because of the way they were around him and she began to feel disgusted by it.

She knew Callen was right, when it came to undercover work she probably wouldn't even reach to Deeks ankles. And yet he had let her take the lead, let her do her thing. He just went along and she wondered why. Was it because he wanted to say 'I told you so?' No it couldn't, he never did. If one would say it, it would have been her. Another idea crept up but she dismissed it directly, she didn't want to think along those lines, it wrecked havoc on her own emotions . But there was the fact that it seemed like Deeks would get involved with his female partners and she wondered if that was the reason behind it all. He cared about her, no need to worry about that, but it was the extend of that caring that left her worried. Their partnership had started to get along, they trusted each other, well with the work related stuff. Deeks clearly didn't tell her everything about his life, except for little snippets. And while she had convinced herself that she was probably the closest to him, he had shattered that idea by having Sarah as his best friend. But there were no rules for him not to have two best female friends, right? Perhaps that had to be her next goal, to let him know he hadn't just become her partner, someone she relied on when at work. No she had to let him know he had become part of her small family and had become a friend. And once they were there, who knew would could happen.

* * *

Hetty was the first up and around in the kitchen. She hadn't planned on cooking and therefore just sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the high kitchen isle/breakfast table. She used the silence in the house to think. Her team might think she had the answer to everything, it didn't mean she didn't need some time alone, some time to think.

The door to the kitchen opened and Hetty expected to hear Callen's footsteps on the floor. She knew her team and their footsteps. That's why she knew it wasn't Callen. It were steps she wasn't used to and it meant they could only belong to one other person. The woman appearing in her vision told her she had been right. (as if she could have been wrong).

The silence inside the room got broken by the typical cooking sounds. By the looks of it Sarah didn't seem to mind to cook and had started to prepare breakfast. But not a word was spoken between them, even when they both knew the other was in the room. Yet Hetty didn't mind. If gave her the time to study the other woman and allowed her to fill in the blanks left by reading the file.

Just like pretty much everyone in her team, Sarah's start in life hadn't been all sunshine. A foster child at six, after having witnessed her parents getting killed in a car crash. With no immediate family around and willing to take her in, she had gotten into the system. But there the similarities ended. Sarah had ended up with a former marine and his wife, desperate to have children but nature working against them. Sarah had been the only foster child for years and that had probably been the reason why she had stayed for so long. In the end even getting adopted by the Carters, but they never changed her surname. Where her team had known heartache and grief in their teens, Sarah had been surrounded by love and it showed. Sarah was the picture of a well raised and loved child, even so close you could never guess she had seen her fair share of pain and worry.

And that was probably when Sarah and Marty connected so well. You couldn't help but love Sarah and Marty was the type to shower his girls with affection. But Sarah had been perfect for Marty too, a helping hand, a guiding figure leading him back to the light and give him sense of direction again. Hetty knew she didn't know as much about his past as Sarah did. Not that it was in either file, but she simply knew. Ray talking about the notebooks and Sarah's hand in them had just confirmed it.

And perhaps that had made Marty as he was now. As far as anyone could have guessed he had been on his own, even the LAPD left him alone when he was out there. But Hetty now knew that to be a lie, because he wasn't alone. Even with them living on different shores of the country, Sarah was there with every step he took and he was with her with every step she took. To know that there was someone in the world who had your back no matter what, was the biggest back up anyone could imagine. It meant you were never forgotten and that gave peace of mind.

Sarah hadn't questioned when she had called her to help them find him. She had just known that he needed her help and that the rest would follow. And yes she couldn't deny, it made her a little jealous. And therefore could understand her team's, especially Kensi's reaction. It had been thrown out there for everyone to see, her team was not as close as they pretended to be. They hadn't known each other as well as they though they did. Well the last part was a blatant lie because they never did try to get to know him, to really get to know the blond haired detective.  
But still there was enough time to rectify that mistake. There was still the time to get to know each other and to become the team they envisioned themselves to be.

Hetty's train of thought was interrupted when Sarah placed a plate in front of her. Never one to feast on fast food her first reaction was to decline, but soon reconsidered. The smell was just too good to pass up and perhaps she had a soft spot for blue berry pancakes with a generous touch of syrup.

'He doesn't hate you guys, you know' Sarah's voice suddenly broke the silence between them.

'I know.' Was the short reply.

'It's just, he's ….' Sarah started, looking for the right words. 'He's basically a big child that needs to feel respected and loved. And yeah he can get annoying and loud, but that's just who he is.'

'besides, it's when kids get quiet that you need to start to worry.' Hetty said.

'That's true' Sarah smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes and told Hetty more than any file could or any intuition for that matter. Sarah and Marty had gone through a lot to get here and Sarah clearly wasn't prepared to get back to that situation.

' But after you get used to the antics, he's worth it. He really is.'

'I know' Hetty replied and now Sarah truly smiled.

'I know you do.'

One after the other filed into the kitchen, with Kensi bringing up the rear of the team. Her eyes shone brightly when she smelled the cooking odors coming from the kitchen. She wasn't known for turning down fast food and right now pancakes did sound heavenly.  
Sarah had been eating herself as she had entered and she hadn't wanted to disturb her. Yet it took too long and she was about to get up and make them herself but someone passing her by stopped her.

'Down girl.' Deeks said as he saved the bowl of batter from her hands. It made the rest of them look up in wondering.

'This heavenly mixture of ingredients will not be ruined by incapable hands.' He explained and turned towards the stove.

While normally she would hit her partner somewhere, she didn't at that moment. No she had bite down a smile, it was her Deeks, her goofy natured partner and it told her that perhaps not everything was lost.

After they had eaten, they were still sitting around the isle and Callen figured that this time was as good as any.

'Deeks,' he said and saw the cop look up to him. He didn't miss the sideway glance to Sarah, but let it slide. If that meant he was willing to listen Callen would let Deeks get away with pretty much everything.

'Yesterday, we came up with a plan to catch Jason.' Callen said as he pointed towards Sam and Kensi. 'And we would like to hear you opinion.'

The silence inside the room was heavy when blue eyes locked with ocean blue ones. They never asked him anything and doing so was something. They never spoke about their feelings and Callen just asking for his advise was as close as an apology he would ever get, but he didn't mind. He took it anyway and accepted it. Perhaps there was still some way to go, but this was a giant leap forward and he was willing to see where it took them.

'Sure, fire away' he said.

'We're planning on luring Jason out into the open.' Callen said.

Deeks could feel his heart getting constricted. Yeah they wanted his advice, but he wasn't liking the idea's he was getting.

'I don't want Sarah out there' he started, but got interrupted.

'I don't think I'll be enough to lure Jason out.' Sarah said. 'There is only one person he wants to get his hands on.'

He knew Sarah was right. Jason wanted him and than have his wicked way with his. He had to admit that it sounded a reasonably good plan, well if you forgot about that little negative parts of it. Jason could just shoot him the minute he saw him and no protection what so ever would be able to save him then. But he had to rely on his luck, right? Not that it had been very kind to him, but it had send Sarah over, just at the moment he had felt he had enough and needed air to breath.

Suddenly another idea worked its way inside his mind and he looked at the brown haired woman next to him. She looked back at him and without any words, not even a movement in their faces, but she understood. She knew what he wanted to do and she had given her blessing. Now the only thing he needed to do was convince the others of this part of the plan.

'I suppose, I'll have to pose as bait.' He started. Callen simply nodded.

'fine, but we'll have to do it my way.' He said and then corrected himself 'our way.'

* * *

**Here you go :)**

**Let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so sorry it took me this long to update, but truthfully inspiration had left me on this story. It wasn't until some of you began to ask after an update that I forced myself to reread the chapters and finally started to work on the next chapter.**

**Probably one more after this, will see.  
I hope you like it!.**

* * *

**Eleven**

He began to hate this place, to really hate it and fairly wanted to be rid of it. It was a rundown, abandoned place, and they certainly had his permission to knock it down and build something new. Twice he has ridden up to these gates, and twice it had been because one of his team members was in danger. And while he may never publicly announce that he liked the cop sitting in the back seat, he was part of his team and that meant everything to Sam. They weren't to touch his team and this Jason dude was gonna find out the hard way what happened if you messed with Sam Hanna's team.

It was just the four of them in the SUV, just like old times, but where normally there would be a lot of banter, now silence ruled. They all seemed to be lost in their own worlds, but in reality it was just Deeks who seemed to stare. Out of the window, into nothing his mind seemingly somewhere else. On the roof, facing this building, Sam figured. Because while Deeks had been adamant that Sarah wasn't to come with them, he clearly never meant she wouldn't be around. To their surprise he had already planned where Sarah would be and what she would be doing there. Callen hadn't question it and so Sam hadn't done either. But he could tell neither was happy with it. Sarah, if everything had gone to plan would be lying low on the rooftop, a snipers rifle in hand. There was one thing knowing she was raised by a former marine, it was something totally different sending her out there and tasking her with having their backs. But Deeks obviously trusted her and Sam knew the importance of trusting Deeks. But it had only been when Hetty announced she would accompany Sarah that his worries had eased a bit. Only for them to be on the raise again from the moment they stopped here and waited for Jason to show.

The plan had been easily put together. Callen would play a dirt bag who had managed to get his hands on Deeks and had heard through the grapevine that Jason wanted to have Deeks. The first part had been put in motion and Jason hadn't disappointed. He had called them and set up a meet. Only it wasn't the meet he was planning for. Kensi looked in the rearview mirror and stole an glance at her partner. He was silent and with Deeks that didn't mean anything good. As annoying as it was, she needed Deeks to be talking, for rubbish to come out of his mouth. Because sometimes, well more often than not he actually said something worth to hear and beside he always managed to erase the doubts and nerves running through her body. His smart remarks, little jokes were always enough to crack the tension and while it most probably was a coping mechanism for him it had become one for her as well. As good she found herself, she realized she needed him to be at her peek.

'You're not falling asleep on me, are you?' suddenly a voice came through their coms.

The three of them just looked at each other and wondered what this was. But one look at Deeks and Callen knew what was going on, well at least he knew a little of what was going on as it clearly was something between the blond haired man and Sarah.

'No, you spotted any plants to fall into?' Deeks replied and a smile played around his lips, obviously recalling a very good memory.

Not much later a soft laughter came over the coms. Callen knew that his first reaction, and that of Sam was to scold and to tell Deeks that he needed to pay attention, to focus. But now, he couldn't hide a smile. Not because of what had been said, they obviously missed a lot of the story to be able to follow, but Deeks with Sarah's help had once again done what he's been doing for so long now. He had cracked the tension inside the car and somehow made them breathe again, become human again. It had taken the absence of Deeks to make him realize how much they needed that, how much they had relied on his remarks but now what the possibility of having him back, Callen vowed to never say anything again about the little jokes. Okay maybe that wouldn't be doable, but at least he would be able to be less negative about it.

Sarah shot back with another remark, which of course Deeks couldn't let pas and soon enough they found themselves listing to some serious banter. And while Sarah had plenty of ammunition, Callen noticed she never took a cheap shot, never took aim at Deeks himself and that was a mental note to them. They could still joke around, still pull a prank or two, but they had to learn to not target the man. Callen figured that it couldn't be that hard and if it was, if it meant Deeks would stay with the team, he was willing to put the extra work in.

As two cars approached the car they were sitting in, the banter fell away and everyone came serious again. Even with Jason hiding inside the building they were standing before, he took his car the get there. The man wasn't stupid and had clearly made some plans to get away if the going got though and in the wrong way for him. As Jason got out, they all got a good look on them. He looked, Callen concluded like an average American male, nothing too suspicious about him. Probably the reason why he had managed to escape custody for so long. Jason didn't stand out, people would hardly notice him in a crowd and it meant he could blend in and hide easily.

Callen glanced at the man sitting next to him in the car. Deeks had gotten quiet again, and something unreadable had settled on his face. Callen wondered how much this man, this bastard had weighted on Deeks' mind. The shooting of Sarah hadn't been Deeks fault, there had been nothing he could have done to keep her safe. There was no reason to believe Jason had known about Sarah, and secondly that he would aim at her to get back at Deeks. But he had done just that, and Callen knew, even with everyone telling him not to, Deeks would blame himself. But it was not only the shooting, it was also the fact that they hadn't been able to catch the guy, to pin the shooting on him. From the file Callen had learned that Jason had been their top suspect, but a questionable statement from friends had led the cops to do nothing. It was one thing knowing the statement was a lie, it was another thing proving it. Unfortunately for them, it was the latter part that counted in a court of law.

Callen had some enemies of his own out there, people who would go to the end of the world to get back at him, so he understood that feeling. What he couldn't understand, by not having someone like that was the feeling Deeks must have had, the idea that at any time, some of Jason's men could find Sarah, all the way back in New York and try a second time. Callen feared he wouldn't be able to function like Deeks had done.

'Deeks' he asked, the blond man just nodded his agreement.

'Sarah?'

'I'm in position.'

That was it, that was the moment.

Callen got out first and slowly, almost casually walked around the car towards the other passengers door. As he opened the door and pulled Deeks out, the man didn't look at him. No, Deeks eyes were fixated on Jason, on his biggest nightmare, well after his dad that was. Their plan was easy, but not avoid of danger. Anything could happen, Jason could have people everywhere. Suddenly the Kevlar vest, hidden under his shirt felt tight and seemingly restricted his breathing process. He didn't try to fight it, it would help Jason convinced this was what he believed it was. He knew Sam and Kensi were sitting tight in the car, ready to come out when needed. Callen held more guns on his body, and even he had a gun hidden on his back. But the feeling of safety only returned when Sarah's voice returned to his ear. If she could stay calm, if she could keep on breathing, he would be able to as well.

Hetty watched the younger woman on the rooftop. They were invisible from the spot the 'deal' was taking place, but still both remained as silent as possible. Her father had trained her well, Hetty concluded as she watched Sarah handle the gun and taken her position. She couldn't hide a smile when Sarah started the banter and easily held her own against the sea of words coming from Deeks. The magic between them was still visible, even when they obviously had split years ago and had remained best friends after that. She had visions of the two out there, undercover. She was pretty sure they would be able to talk their way out of a mess, even it were just the bad guys wanted them to shut up.

'Miss McArthur?' Hetty softly asked. At first there wasn't any response and Hetty wondered if she was being ignored.

'Yeah?' finally came, but Sarah never took her eye of her aim and her target.

'What are you planning on doing?'

'Returning the favor.'

Deeks understood the meaning behind the saying 'silence before the storm'. It was a heavy silence, a pressing silence and everyone could feel the storm brewing. They slowly made their way over to Jason, meanwhile listing to Sarah's instruction. He had only told Callen what they had been planning on doing, and surprisingly the Special Agent in Charge hadn't objected. As long as they didn't kill him, he was fine with it, he had told Deeks. Not that it would have stopped them. it was one of those unspoken things between them, something both somehow knew but never spoke about. Whenever the change they could, Jason would feel the pain he had caused them.

Jason said some things, but he never heard it. He was too focused on his surroundings, on Sarah's voice telling them what to do and when to hold still. Now they only had to wait on Jason's move. It didn't take them long. The ex cop now turned criminal soon enough raised his gun and said something along the lines of 'you really think I would let him live?'

He hardly had finished the sentence, a boom resonated through the surroundings. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, only to spring into life just mere seconds later.

Jason's men were plenty in numbers, but still no match for 4 seasoned agents, agents that were aided by a fine markswoman on a rooftop. The entire fight only lasted a good 30 minutes, until the last of the men realized if they wanted to live, they better surrender. Kensi overlooked the crime scene and tried to take everything in. Everywhere bodies were lying and in between them all stood her partner, tall as can be. He turned towards her and smiled a little.

'Do me a favor and arrest the bastard' he said as he slowly walked away, still with the smile on his face.

Wondering what that was all about, she closed in on the enemy. She couldn't hide a smile as she saw Jason, lying on the ground, clutching his shoulder. His left shoulder. A shoulder that bore the specific markings of a gunshot wound. A gunshot wound created by a high powered rifle,…

* * *

**I hope you all remember which shoulder Sarah had been hit in :):)**

**Reviews are welcome and really loved :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**The final chapter. Feel like it is a nice closure for the entire story.  
Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer is still the usual.  
Thanks for the reviews, the followers and the favorites! They really make my day. **

* * *

The questioning of Jason happened in the hospital. The wound wasn't too bad, but it took a surgery to fix it and the doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation. Hetty had wanted to postpone the interrogation, but surprisingly Deeks had been against it. He had wanted to question Jason himself and preferred to do it now. Hetty had pointed out that he was under arrest and guarded in the hospital and he would still be there in the morning but it had no effect.

In the end Hetty had relented and that's why they found themselves in the hospital on route to Jason's room. Deeks entered the room alone. Callen and Sam had objected, but a look from Sarah had shut them up. They understood and it didn't take Kensi long to catch up. This was something Deeks needed to do on his own, needed to get it over with and be the person to do it. Jason had been someone who had hung as a shadow over him for years and years. He needed the closure this would give him, he needed to see and feel he was in control, that finally after all this time he had come out on top.

She sat down in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting room, only realizing at the last moment that she was sitting next to Sarah. But she decided against changing the seating. Perhaps this was something she needed to get over. The first minutes were spend in silence, mainly because Sarah seemed to be engrossed in her phone and the text message she had send and received.  
Silence between them was broken when Sarah turned towards her and handed her a little card.

'for when he gets too much.' She softly smiled. ' been there and I can take the complaining'.

Kensi couldn't hide a smile and somehow a connection was born between the two women.

Sarah might be the closest friend Deeks had, Sarah lived on the other side of the country. He might talk to Sarah once a week by phone or other means, in the end he went to work with her. In the end he shared most of his time with her and by the looks of it, Deeks was going to stay with them. So there might be jealousy, Kensi also realized there was nothing to be scared off. Sarah wasn't there to get Deeks away from them, she had done the opposite and she might as well thank the other woman for that. If she had to share Deeks with Sarah, well she was more than prepared to do that. Seeing the way they acted around each other, well let's face it she wanted that too. And why not look and steal with your eyes.

* * *

'oh, by the way, I almost forgot' Deeks said as he reached for the door handle.

'What,' Jason glared at him.

'The FBI wants a word with you too'

'The FBI?'

'Apparently, they don't take it kindly when you shoot at one of their own.'

'I never….' But the ex-cop soon fell silent and Deeks could see the wheels turn inside his mind. He was finally putting it all together

'My shoulder' Jason started, 'it was her, wasn't it'

He only nodded and left, letting Jason deal with the realization that not only he had gotten his revenge, but Sarah as well. it put a smile on his face.

He had a lot of demons, more then he cared for and more then he let the outer world know about. But this particular demon had worked its way out, had shown itself in front of the team and he hadn't expected the reaction. Perhaps he had been wrong, perhaps he should have known that in the end they always rooted for the team, but he couldn't lie. His pride and joy had grown when Callen had explained the plan and made it clear they would be there every step of the way.  
He had even let Sarah come to the scene and for that Deeks had been grate full. Just like he, Sarah needed her closure on this case and she had gotten it. As he made his way back towards the waiting room, he finally told himself the answer to the questions asked in the beginning of it all. This was his place, this was his home and no matter how bad the situation they would always have his back.

Rounding the corner a sight graced his vision and now he truly couldn't hide the smile forming on his face. Sarah and Kensi, sitting together, talking and laughing. His happiness about the reaction of the team only heighted. Not only had he finally understood the meaning of a team and the realization that he belonged to one, there was also a bond forming between two of most important women in his life. Sarah had been his secret, his sound board when the going got tough, but he knew that now to be a mistake. Sarah was what defined him in a way, and now it only seemed logic that the rest of the team knew about her.

* * *

Standing in a corner, using all her ninja skills like her liaison officer liked to say, Hetty stood silent and observant. The entire team was back in the bullpen, joking around. And she couldn't hid a smile. This was she had always envisioned and even if they still had a long way to go, they had finally taken the first step in the right direction.

Roaring erupted from the bullpen when the story about the name had been told. This was something she hadn't known, there was a lot she hadn't known, but knowing Deeks it had to be something funny and hilarious. She could really picture the situation, Deeks and Sarah both drunk beyond means and them discussing about whether or not they were going the wrong way and whether that plant had been there before or not. She knew alcohol did strange things to people, she herself a prime example, not that she let the team know, but she could see Sarah deciding to bend over and ask the plants, and she could most definitely see Deeks give her the final push to topple over. It had to be ferns, a bush of roses wouldn't have had the same reaction.

But most of all, and she didn't need to picture it, she saw it right in front of her, her team was back together and laughing and joking around. It had needed a little touch from a stranger, but in the end they had found their way back together and while this entire episode may one day become a bad memory, it served as a good teaching memory as well.

* * *

_Months later,_

Hetty had asked them to join her at a certain address and since Hetty wasn't one to mess with the team obliged. So that was why she was following Sam's challenger and wondered what was going on this time. Hetty hadn't said much, the most Callen had managed to get out of her was that it was a surprise. Which in Hetty's case could mean anything and everything.

Deeks however had gotten quiet, but the more they advanced towards the address, the more she became sure that her partner had an idea about it all. Maybe he didn't know what was going on, but at least he knew where they were going. The grin on his face told her more than enough.

That had become the biggest change between them, the fact that she took more time to get to know him, to really get to know him. He still had some secrets, especially concerning his childhood, she never got him to open up about that. But at least she had gotten to know the man she worked with better and better. She was able to read him, almost like he managed to read her and she could really feel the difference already. T hey were become closer and closer and their partnership benefited from it. They were nowhere near the point that they didn't need words to communicate, like Sam and Callen, but they hadn't had to use entire sentences either.

But she had gotten to know the man behind work mask a bit better and had finally learned that he was worth knowing, worth having around. He seemed to take a burden of her shoulders and he was a fun guy to be around with. And perhaps she did like the stares that she got from the other, the 'oh, she's so lucky to have a guy like that' type of stare. And while she would still shoot down the rumor of them being an item, it did wonders to her ego.

She had his back not only out there, but also at work, inside the bullpen. She took his defense against Sam and Callen a bit more often, because in the end he always came to her defense and well yeah, there was just one simply sentence to explain her actions: he was worth it.

Deeks instantly recognized the neighborhood Hetty had asked them to join her and because of that the house they needed to be wasn't much of a surprise.  
He made his way towards the front and was busy fishing his keys out of his pocket. Somewhere on the key ring the key to this door hung and a joke was already forming in his mind. A joke easily thwarted as the door swung open the second he tried to insert the key into the lock.

'You didn't think we would let you pull of the same joke twice, now did you?' The Hispanic man who had opened the door asked.

'Well, it was worth the try.' Deeks smiled.

The rest of the team looked on and they could tell that these two knew each other and pretty well by the looks of it.

'Well, guys meet Sarah's second and only' Deeks said with a wink, Kensi couldn't hide a smile. One joke had failed, but Deeks was a never ending sources of jokes.

'Danny, meet the rest of the crew'.

Hetty's surprise turned out to be a dinner with Sarah and her boyfriend Danny who had come over to LA for a few days and had managed to keep it quiet . They were led outside into the garden and Kensi understood the love Deeks had for this house. He hadn't been able to shut up about it ever since Sarah had gone back to New York and now she understood. The garden had a direct view on the ocean yet was quiet and peace full. Only the distant sound of the waves crashing could be heard. In the middle of the grass a nicely decorated table stood.

After some chatting and toasting, Sarah and Deeks shared a look. It ended in Sarah ushering Danny towards the kitchen, using the excuse of getting the food.  
They only knew something was up when Deeks rose and took his glass into his hands.

'I like to say some things before dinner.' He said, earning the attention of the team.

'I used to think that Sarah had ruined me. That somehow I wasn't capable of working with others because they weren't her. But now I know I was wrong. She didn't ruin me, she kept me available. She kept me available for when the right team, the right people came along. So , to us.'

A chorus of 'to us' was heard in the garden and back in the kitchen two people could only agree: all was good.

* * *

**Finally did it!**

**Thanks for sticking around long enough and encourage me to finish this story.  
I had to, as I'm currently working on a sequel of some sort and needed to finish this before I could start posting the new story.  
**

**So once again thanks for all the reviews and such!**


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